Define 'Normal'
by darkest just before the dawn
Summary: -KINDA ON HIATUS- Things are finally coming to a head, it's time for the gang to step up and stop an evil villain once and for all or lose one of their friends forever.
1. A New Beginning

Hello! And welcome to the sequel to Rock My World! I'm so happy I completed the first story, but now on to the second installment. Enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 1 of Define Normal

A New Beginning

"Avada Kedavra!" A little boy with messy black hair yelled energetically while pointing a magic marker at Kira.

Kira snatched the marker away, "Go to bed you little brat!" Note to self, don't let kids watch Harry Potter movies and consume massive amounts of sugar. She pointed at the stairs and glared at the boy, "I'm not kidding Masaru."

"Make me you evil witch!" He stuck his tongue out at her just as the phone rang.

Kira grabbed Masaru by the collar of his shirt and dragged him over to the kitchen where the phone was. "Sekimura residence, pissed off babysitter speaking."

"I hope you're not hurting him Kira…" Kurama's worried voice said.

She sighed heavily into the receiver, "He's still alive if that's what you mean…unfortunately." She let go of Masaru and hissed venomously, "You better be in your pajamas when I'm done talking on the phone, got it?"

The little boy stuck his tongue out at her before dashing up the stairs laughing.

"I'm going to kill that kid…"

Kurama chuckled nervously, "I'm sure his parents wouldn't like that."

"Ha!" She spat angrily, "His parents will probably thank me for burying his dead ass body in the back yard." She put a hand on her hip as she paced the kitchen with the phone in her other hand, "So, how are things in the Minamino household tonight? Is your stepbrother still there?"

"Of course he's still here," Kurama replied. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Just wondering! Seesh! You don't have to get all lovey dovey older brother on me. Anyway," she said leaning against the counter by the sink, "why'd you call? You usually don't call me when I'm on the job."

"Oh, right." He paused before continuing, "About that…the reason I called was because I-"

Just then, an frightened Masaru came hurling into the kitchen, crashing into Kira so they both fall on the floor. The telephone receiver got knocked out of her hands and crashed onto the floor in little tiny pieces. It was totally broken thanks to Masaru, the idiot.

Kira gaped in surprise before narrowing her eyes at the little boy and grabbing him by the ear. She yelled loudly at him, "You little snot nose brat! What's wrong with you? I was talking on the phone, you moron!"

"OW!" He cried as he tried to wriggle away from her. "It was an accident!"

She let him go and glared down at his sniffling face before softening her expression. "I didn't mean to yell at you like that…you just gotta be more careful, okay?" He nodded, but his eyes were focused on the floor. "Why were you running anyway?" She asked leaning over and putting her hands on her knees so she was eye level with him.

"There's a monster in my closet," he sobbed, wiping his nose with his hand much to Kira's disgust.

Gross. She reached over the counter and pulled a Kleenex out of its box and handed it to him, "Here, use this." She tried to smile reassuringly, now feeling bad for yelling at him before. She had almost forgotten how scary it was to be a little kid and how much patience they needed.

He took the tissue and blew his nose then clung to her leg, burying his face in the side of her skirt, "Scary monster…its in the closet and tried to eat me! It's big and black and had BIG teeth like a dragon!" He then pulled up his shirt sleeve to show her his arm which had four long cuts on them and was bleeding badly, with crimson dripping down his arm. It was then she noticed the trail of blood that he had made on the kitchen floor.

Kira blinked, "Blood?" She tilted her head to one side as she examined his arm after picking him up and sitting him on a counter. She found some paper towels and wet them in the sink before using them to wipe the blood off of his arm. "Are you sure a monster did this to you?" Kira raised an eyebrow.

Masaru nodded as she cleaned his wound, "Uh-huh. It jumped outta my closet when I was looking for my pajamas and grabbed me."

When the cuts were all cleaned and bandaged she told him to wait downstairs in the living room for her and that she'd be back in a few minutes. Cautiously, she walked up the creaky wooden stairs noticing that the wall lamps were off and that it was very quiet. When Kira got to the top she saw that Masaru's bedroom door was flung wide open.

Immediately upon entering his room she sensed a demonic aura, "Come on out you fricking youkai!" She called into the darkness.

She heard nothing for a few seconds before the closet door slowly opened to reveal a shadow like creature with two huge yellow orbs for eyes and pointy teeth glistening in the blackness.

"A human like you dare challenges me?" It asked in a voice that sounded like rough sandpaper.

Kira scrunched her nose, "Oh, please. Quit rising yourself up on a pedestal, idiot. No wonder I couldn't sense you downstairs, you're so weak and pathetic that you have to prey on defenseless children, is that it buster? Or are you just really stupid?"

"Foolish mortal!" It growled, rising up so now it was double its original height, its head almost touching the ten-foot high ceiling now. "I'll eat you alive."

She snorted and turned away so her profile was facing the demon, "Is that so?" She raised her palm and the golden seal lit up while her hand began glowing a bright red and suddenly a blast of aura shot out at it, obliterating it instantly. All that was left was a wisp of smoke where the demon once was. She brushed her hands off, grinning, "That takes care of that." It was a good thing Genkai thought her how to control some of her power, if she had put too much into that spirit blast then she would've easily destroyed the house.

"Wow, onee-san!" (big sister)

Kira almost fell over at the sound of Masaru's voice before turning on him, "Don't sneak up behind me!"

The little boy's eyes were wide like saucers, "Can you teach me to do that?"

Kira scratched the back of her head. Oh, shit. He saw that, didn't he. My bad, Kurama's gonna kill me now. Kurama had warned her about using her powers whenever a normal person as nearby just in case they saw it, but she had anticipated Masaru, being traumatized from the cuts on his arm, wouldn't come upstairs to see her 'taking out the trash', as Hiei would put it.

"Listen Masaru," she started anxiously kneeling down. "You can't tell anyone what just happened, got it? Just act like you didn't see anything."

"What? Why? That was amazing!"

She put her index finger to her lips, "I know I'm awesome, but seriously, maybe I will teach you SOMETHING if you keep quiet about this, yeah?"

"Really? Okay, I won't tell a soul onee-san!"

She ruffled his hair gently, "And one more thing Masaru…"

"Yeah?"

Kira's eyes got an evil glint in them as she hit his head with the back of her hand, "Don't call me onee-san!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXX FILLER XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Six months had passed since the Sage Youkai case and some things had changed and some things hadn't. A few things that had indeed changed over the course of time was that Kira's hair was no longer at her ears, but now had grown to just touching her shoulders making her look more mature than before. Another change was that she now was a babysitter since her allowance had been cut off because she had caused some trouble at school, Meiou Academy, involving the class president and two dozen dead frogs that were meant for the science class. In addition to that, she and Kurama considered themselves good friends now even if they wouldn't admit it to each other, but it was kind of obvious…

The things that hadn't changed mostly pertained to the other members of the Reikai Tantei, like Yusuke and his uncontrollable fetish for feeling Keiko up. Now that he was almost in high school, many of them had hoped he would be over such things, but in his case, old habits do indeed die-hard. Kuwabara was still a kitty freak and often brought Eikichi, his 'baby', over to Kurama's house to play with the over zealous Neko, the demon cat. And yes, Hiei still disliked Kira and was just as mean and cold towards her as ever.

Keiko, Yusuke and Kuwabara were now in their final term at Sarayashiki Jr. High and Keiko was constantly busy trying to help Yusuke graduate. Kira had joined Kurama at Meiou Academy and because he made sure she didn't skip school too often she was No. 4 ranked in her class, which her mother was very proud of in spite of Kira who didn't really care at all. Finally, Hiei, just hung out in trees all day until their school would let out because he refused to go even though Koenma did offer to enroll him in Sarayashiki once…or twice…or three times so he would be closer with his teammates, but he declined each time especially after Kira tackled him when she saw him during lunch once. Whether it was from her sheer 'joy' of seeing him or just being funny, nobody will ever know.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX NOW BACK TO THE STORY XXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was the next morning and Kira was exhausted after last night. Not because beating that stupid closet demon had been difficult, on the contrary it was super easy, she had exhausted herself when trying to explain to Masaru's parents why their dear sweet little boy had four long cuts on his arm. It had taken her a few moments for her to rack her brain for an excuse and it hadn't been a very good one. She said a mutated cat had escaped from a secret government lab and had attacked Masaru, mistaking him for a boy that used to poke him with a stick in his cage. It was the best she could do. She'd probably never baby-sit him again…which she didn't really have a problem with.

Laying in bed still, she rubbed her eyes and adjusted her pillow comfortably under her head. Her room was no longer a mess of moving boxes which had taken her near three months to unpack. Her bed was beside the wall right under a window that had curtains that were usually drawn back so she could look at the stars at night or catch Hiei sitting in a nearby tree so she could throw something at him. The floor was hard polished wood with a neon green rug in the center with a circular comfy blue chair on it. On the other side of the room was her bookshelf packed with more comics than reading books and beside that was her messy desk filled with incomplete homework assignments, study guides and thousand paged text books. Her laptop computer, which she had gotten as a present from her mother for getting into Meiou Academy was laying on the floor next to her boom box and her CD case. Posters of rock stars covered the walls as well as some American snowboarders and skateboarders. In the corner of her room farthest from her bed was a huge pile of stuffed animals next to her closet, which now contained all her clothes.

There was a knock on her bedroom door, "Kira, get up! You're gonna be late for school again!"

Kira flopped over onto her stomach to see her digital clock that was hanging off of her bedside by its cord table flashing 7:00AM in red numbers. She sat up and ran a hand through her crimson bangs and yawned.

"Are you up?"

"Maybe…"

Her mother opened the door and stood in the doorway with her red bathrobe on and a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper tucked under her arm, "Kira, you can't do this every single morning." She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I've already put out your breakfast so hurry up and get dressed if you want a ride to school…or are you walking with Shuichi again?"

"You know his name's Kurama," Kira mumbled as she sat on the edge of her bed with her eyelids drooping.

"I prefer to call him the name his kaasan gave him, thank you very much. Now get a move on!" Kira's mother, Rika, knew all about Kurama now after what happened six months ago. It was hard for the middle-aged woman to get used to the fact that sweet Shuichi Minamino was Yoko Kurama, a legendary demon thief.

It was only a matter of minutes before Kira found herself downstairs in the kitchen eating cereal and drinking orange juice straight from the carton, dressed in Meiou Academy uniform and with her hair in a ponytail, letting her long crimson bangs frame her face while some of it rested above her eyebrows. Just because she and her mother lived in Japan didn't mean that they are traditional Japanese food, in fact, both of them preferred the American cuisine excluding fast food, which they both agreed was disgusting.

"Do I need to give you a ride?" Her mother pestered again as she applied lipstick to herself, she was wearing a black skirt with a white long sleeved button shirt under a gray jacket, stockings and high heels.

"Do doctors usually dress like that?" Kira said with arched eyebrows after she put her empty bowl in the sink with her spoon and got a bottle of water out of the fridge which she then slipped into her book bag. It wasn't like her mother to take such care in her appearance.

"Not usually," her mother answered vaguely as she finished powdering her cheeks. "Well, I'm off." She grabbed her keys off of the table and left. Kira heard the her start the car outside and quickly drive away.

_Weird. I've never seen her dress up so much before for work. Maybe she's got a new boyfriend or something at the hospital, but she wouldn't do that to Dad, would she?_

Kira pushed the subject out of her mind as she put her lunch in her school bag though the thought of her mother having a boyfriend was hard to shake off. What if she ended up with a stepfather and stepsiblings? What if this guy was a serial killer targeting single moms? What if she was just assuming things? What if…

The doorbell rang, snapping her out of her current train of thought. She saw from the windows by the front door that Kurama was waiting outside on the porch for her looking down the street.

"Hey Kurama!" Kira greeted opening the door and closing it behind her.

"Good morning Kira." He smiled genuinely. "Shall we walk to school now?"

She jumped off the porch ahead of him, "Duh! C'mon, let's go before your fan club gets the chance to stalk us again." She put her hands behind her back as she walked next to him in the crisp morning air.

Kurama gazed at her from the corner of his emerald eyes. For a while now he had wanted more than friendship with her, after she had been at his school for a few months he was surer of it now than ever. He wanted companionship, or whatever you call it. He wanted a relationship that was more than just what they had now. He had thought about telling her his feelings, but he also knew that she was denser than Yusuke in that area. She was creative, outspoken, funny, kind…sometimes even considerate and a deep thinker, but he feared her reaction. He might feel ready to have a relationship with someone, but he didn't know if she was mature enough to have the kind he wanted, the kind he needed. He supposed it would just have to wait.

"What are you staring at?"

It took Kurama a moment to realize that she was giving him an odd look. He quickly diverted his eyes away, "Nothing." He started whistling while he was walking hoping to distract her, but she had stopped a couple of feet behind him.

"Nothing, eh?" She obviously wasn't satisfied with his response. She tapped her cheek with her index finger. (Geez, she's really DENSE, isn't she?)

He sweatdropped as he smiled uneasily at her questioning expression.

"Fine, whatever. Don't tell me…"

"Kira?"

"Hm?"

"Don't even think about it." He said glancing back at her.

"Think about what?"

"Probing my mind, Genkai thought me how to block you out." Kurama told her cheerily.

She snapped her fingers and grumbled an inaudible curse word at Kurama's back. So much for that plan.

Just then she remembered last night and ran to catch up to him, "Oi! What is it that you wanted to tell me yesterday while we were on the phone?"

He looked down at her, for the first time in long time noticing their height difference. Kurama was a good ten inches taller than she was, she stood barely up to his shoulder, but that made her seem so cute. "Oh, that…I was going to tell you that Koenma wants to talk to everyone today around four. I was just passing it onto you since you haven't been to Genkai's in quite some time and usually that's where everyone is."

Kira put her hands behind her head, "Another mission?"

"Perhaps."

"I hope it involves fighting!" She pumped a fist into the air. Kira then lowered it and glowered at him apprehensively, "You're not gonna try to protect me again like in the last mission, are you? Because I CAN take care of myself just so you know kitsune. "

He sighed heavily, "I can't promise you anything."

She lowered her eyelids and put her head on his shoulder, she knew he worried about her. Hell, the guy wanted to kill anyone who tried to hurt her, but he needed to understand that she could take care of herself. "Just promise me you'll try…unless I'm about to be killed or something, then you can jump in and save my sorry ass."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

So, so? What do you think? Kira seems more mature, no? Don't worry, she's still insanely funny and amusing. Sorry that this took so long to get up, but I've had other things going on in my life like the torture of JV soccer. (my coach was a fitness freak and made us run a mile under 7:30 or else we didn't get playing time, I got 7:15 so I'm not complaining anymore) Well, that's in the past. It feels good to write again.

NEXT CHAPTER: Don't Waste Your Time Fitting In

Rock on and LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


	2. Don't Waste Your Time Fitting In

Dc-chan: Sorry this update took too long. I've been having domestic problems at my house that have really taken a lot of energy out of me also I got super sick on Monday. So MCT and Seraph (my muses) can do the rest of this intro part thingy.

MCT: Joy.

Seraph: I have a pitchfork.

MCT: Dc-chan (Chaos) doesn't own anything Yu Yu Hakusho related because if she owned it…bad things would happen. Trust me.

Seraph: At the end of the chapter is an announcement so be sure to read it or else I'll poke you with my pitchfork.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Chapter 2 of Define 'Normal'

Don't Waste Your Time Fitting In

Kira was sitting on the roof of the school gazing out at the azure sky overhead. There was a white cloud far off into the distance and she was sure that if she stood on her head it would look like a lone ship in the vast sea. Man, she was bored. Almost painfully bored.

What was she doing on the roof by herself you ask?

Well, cutting class of course! If Kurama found out where she was during first period she would be in BIG trouble and odds were that the little snitches (the Shuichi fan girls) in her class would tell on her. They just couldn't keep their stupid mouths shut when they should. She didn't understand what they found so intriguing about the red head. Sure he was kinda cute and very polite, but still it didn't add up. If they knew what she knew about him none of them would touch him with a hundred foot pole.

She doubt many of them would be so…so mushy over him if they found out he was a ruthless, cutthroat and cold demon. Mushy, romance stuff kind of freaked her out, yet she was slightly interested in it. After hearing her grandmother's story of how she met her grandfather Kira had thought it was sweet and enduring. Which increased her small curiosity in romance ten fold.

She heard the bell ring, which meant that first period was over and that second period would start in five minutes. Kira decided to head down to her classroom now that first period, English, was over. She had spent basically eight years in the USA so she considered English class trivial. Why study and work in a class at something she already had down?

Kira swiftly entered the classroom and into her seat which was by the window and in the back of the room. She put her chin in the palm of her hand and rested her elbow on her desk top, acting like she had been there the whole time, but obviously her presence was quickly noticed.

"Where were you Kamiyama?" A girl with dark brown hair asked angrily after she pounded her fist on the table. "You know you being late makes me, the class rep, look bad! Where were you?"

Kira rolled her eyes in another direction nonchalantly, "Around…"

"Then why weren't you in class?" She folded her arms across her chest and glared down, her brown eyes quivering with rage.

The whole class was watching the two girls now with some amusement and some with awe. You had to be brave to piss off a class rep, especially Satsuki Kosaka.

"I didn't feel like it." Kira responded idly, staring out of the window with a glazed over expression.

Satsuki's jaw dropped and several of the on looking students laughed, "YOU WHAT!" Satsuki felt like ripping her own hair out and flailed her arms around, "You little punk! What could possibly be more important than going to school?"

"I just wanted to think without any distractions, like a certain girl who's screaming her flipping head off at me right now…" Kira muttered. It was the truth after all.

"Kamiyama!"

Kira shrugged her shoulders and looked up at Satsuki, "Just chill out. I'm back aren't I?"

Satsuki opened her mouth to say something.

Then closed it.

Open.

Close.

Open.

Close.

"What are you? A fish?" Kira asked raising an eyebrow. It was bag enough that Kurama gave her heat for ditching school, she didn't need it from another source that didn't know the first thing about her. She decided to do a little mind probing to figure out what was going on in Satsuki's head.

_That arrogant punk! How dare she make a mockery of me and in front of the entire class! Who does she think she is? She's so obnoxious and acts all high and mighty. What the hell can Shuichi see in her? I saw him walking with her to school today…again. The way those two are always hanging out together really bugs me!_

Kira stopped upon realizing why Satsuki was so angry. She was jealous, green with envy, or whatever the hell you wanted to call it. It was like this with almost every other girl that gave her a hard time. It was always Shuichi this or Shuichi that in their air headed minds. Now that was truly annoying.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Satsuki snapped furiously, finally able to speak again.

Kira straightened up in her seat, "Oh, nothing…" She lied smoothly. "Just at the hideous mask you're wearing that's all."

The class erupted in howl of laughter as Satsuki became flustered, her face turning red in embarrassment. She clenched her fists as tears welled up in her eyes before she ran out of the classroom crying. Two girls followed her after giving Kira two nasty looks.

Kira scratched the back of her head acting like nothing had happened when the teacher entered the room after the bell. _You think people would learn after a few months not to push me. Geez, talk about being overly sensitive._

"Listen class," the teacher, a stout man with a comb over and wearing a ruffled suit, cleared his throat. "We have a new student joining us today." He glanced over to the three empty desks in the front row, "Where are Kosaka, Sato and Aihara?"

"In the bathroom, they'll be back soon." A girl in the middle of the room replied.

"Very well, then." He coughed into his hand. "Like I was saying, we have a new student that will be joining our class." He beckoned a boy into the room.

The boy had short spiky brown hair and was pale. Instead of wearing the school uniform he wore a short sleeved white button shirt that was open at the top where a silver chain necklace was visible and black cargo pants. He had dark purple eyes and his face was stoic giving him the 'I don't care' vibe. His hands were in his pants pockets and his shoulders were relaxed. Despite the fact that he was slightly slouching he was tall, probably Kurama's height.

Kira could tell the girls in the class were already swooning over him and drooling from their seats.

The teacher continued, "Class, this is Takuto Tamaki. He came here from Nagoya so I except you to welcome him." He then shot Takuto a disapproving look, "Your desk is over there by Kamiyama, but be sure to wear your uniform tomorrow Tamaki."

The boy sheepishly walked over to the empty desk next to Kira and sat down, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. It appeared he was going to take a nap in his first class at Meiou Academy. After a few minutes of silent work the boy opened one eye and stared at Kira.

She noticed this and faced him. "What are you looking at?" She said in a whisper.

He grinned and put his hands behind his head, "Nothing…" He closed his eye again and a few minutes later she could hear him snoring quietly.

…

After school, which had seemed incredibly longer than usual to Kira who was now having a huge guilt trip for making Satsuki cry, she saw Kurama waiting for her by the school's entrance gate. Leaning against the cement gate with his hands in his pockets. The slow breeze passing through his hair and his emerald eyes glimmering in the sunlight like jewels.

Kira felt weird staring at him. _From a distance, he really does look like a girl…_She brushed the thought off as she approached him. He saw her coming and grinned.

Kurama stood up, "How was school today?" He asked when she stopped in front of him. Kurama rubbed the back of his neck feeling the butterflies in his stomach.

"It was okay. I made Satsuki cry again." She answered curtly.

He blinked twice, "Again?" He then remember who the girl she was talking about was. "You mean Satsuki, your class rep, right?" How could he forget her? She was hard to miss whenever she went on a power trip and would shout at the top of her lungs.

"She likes you, you know? As does almost every other girl in the school." Kira said wanting to see his reaction. She eyed him anxiously.

Kurama chuckled lightly, "So I've heard." He raised his eyebrows when he saw Kira pout at this, "What?" Did he say something wrong? Did he make it seem like he was the type to return their affections? He panicked inside his mind, wondering why she would be looking at him like that. _Argh! Confusion! It's so hard to read her sometimes! _He lowered his head and felt the heat rising to his face.

Kira stared deadpan at him, "What's wrong?" She blushed. What had she done now?

He noted the surprise in her voice and become conscious to the fact that she probably hadn't meant to pout like that. He was relieved that he wasn't upset with her though he felt more awkward now for making her uncomfortable.

Both of them were silent while shouting in their heads at themselves.

_Great! Now he probably thinks I'm acting clueless again!_

_Way to go, Kurama. She thinks she did something wrong!_

_Why did he have to look at me like that? I just had to open my dumb mouth and make myself appear a total and complete space case!_

_I'm a moron! Though she looks cute when she's confused, but that's beside the point!_

"So…" Kurama said trying his best to break the silence that had fallen. "You went off at Satsuki again?"

Kira nodded, "Yeah, she's such a pain." She yawned and stretched her arms over her head, "Are we meeting up with Yusuke today?" Just then someone walking by bumped into her. She whirled on whoever it was, "Watch it ass-"

She stopped abruptly when she saw the new student, Takuto, looking down at her.

Kira ran a hand through her hair, "Oh, it's you."

"Kamiyama, right?" He inquired smiling a little at her.

"Kira Kamiyama," she said hastily. Her eyes darting between him and Kurama. She didn't want her friend to think that she associated with this guy even if she did just tell him her name. She slapped her forehead and turned back to Kurama. She grabbed him by his wrist, "C'mon, let's go. I wanna beat Yusuke at Asteroids again."

Kurama obliged as he allowed the short girl to pull him away though he did glance back over his shoulder at the boy, but didn't say anything.

…

"Who was that?"

"Some new kid, Takuto Tamaki, I think…"

"You know his name?"

"He does sit next to me. Besides, it's not like I'm his friend or he's mine. That jerk bumped into me without even apologizing! The nerve of some people."

"Maybe he meant to bump into you."

"What gives you that idea? Maybe he's just a jerk. A lot of guys are like that at this stage in their life."

"Oh really?"

"Not that you are or anything! You're much cooler than him!"

"That's comforting…"

"It's true! It's true! You could probably kick his ass too with your rose whip! Not that I'm saying that you should although I'd find that uber funny, but don't worry about him! He's just the new kid in my class!"

Kira and Kurama were waiting outside an arcade for the rest of the gang. When they had gotten there Kurama had started asking questions about that boy. When saying THAT boy, it's meant to mean certain dislike despite the fact that neither of them knew him well enough to really call him THAT boy. Kira didn't understand why every time a boy said hello or talked to her Kurama would act like this. It wasn't like she liked that guy back or something stupid and similar to that. She really wanted Kurama to stop inquiring her like this so she changed the subject.

"Where are the others? They should be here by now, school's been out for over an hour." She looked back and forth frantically, making herself dizzy.

"They should be here soon," Kurama informed her while checking the time on his watch. What could be keeping them? They could perhaps be in trouble…

"What if they were eaten by youkai?" Kira cried out randomly causing people on the street to stare at her before she shot back. "What? It could happen!"

"I doubt any youkai would be as rash to think that they could eat Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei." He reasoned. "I'm sure they're fine."

"I was joking Kurama. J-O-K-I-N-G! Phhft, got a sense of humor, much?"

"It's hard to tell when you act so serious…" he trailed off. It was hard to tell when she was joking or when she was being serious. She took serious things lightly usually and light things seriously. He couldn't help feel that sometimes she was probably one of the most complicated people he had ever met in his life. But it was cute.

Kira hit his shoulder, "Lighten up fox boy!" She then shielded her eyes with her hand like a visor then pointed down the street with the other. "Hey! It's Botan!"

Kurama's eyes followed her pointed finger to see the blue haired ferry girl rushing over towards them, "Kurama! Kira!"

"What's wrong?" Kurama sounded worried, making Kira worry. She wasn't used to hearing him talk in that kind of tone.

"Yeah, Botan!" She questioned putting her fist into her palm. "What's up? Where are the others?"

Botan wiped the sweat off of her brow and pulled at her blue skirt, "It's terrible! Absolutely terrible!"

"What is?" Kira pressed hoping the ferry girl would reveal her reasons for coming to them. "Did something bad happen?"

"Yes! Something terrible!" She pulled the two teenagers into an alley and explained to them in a hush voice. "Two items were stolen from Reikai and we need to find them ASAP! Or else big trouble will happen! I have Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei already tracking down the first item and I need the two of you two find the other before it is used. One is the Ring of Darkness, a ring that allows the wearer control of shadows and night. I have the others looking for that one, but you two need to find the other one. The more important of the two…"

"And that is…" Kira waved her hands for Botan to continue.

The ferry girl gulped, "The second one is very important. It's the Guardian of Time."

Kira gave Botan a blank look, "And what does this ever so magical Guardian of Time do, dare I ask?"

Kurama thumped Kira gently on the head to silence her, "She's getting to that. Pay attention, K-chan." He rested his arm on her head much to her displeasure.

Botan put her index finger to her chin, "The Guardian of Time is an item that controls the flow of time. It can take you back and forward, basically anywhere in time. Most imperative of all though is if used incorrectly it can change the course of events that have already taken place."

"So if someone wanted to change the course of history they would go back in time and alter the course of events," Kurama said thoughtfully as Kira tried to shove his arm off of her head. "That is problematic."

"Yes," Botan agreed gloomily. "It gets worse though, the Guardian of time isn't exactly an item either. It's a spirit child."

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Kinda a filler chapter I know, but I wanted to show that even though time has passed Kira is still Kira. Anyway, the plot will probably pick up in the next chapter and it has to do with time travel. Cool, ne?

And now for the announcement:

I'm planning on writing some other fictions so I might not be able to devote as much time as I need to for this one, but I plan on updating this once a week (I hope…) Here's a sneak peak at the other stories I'm planning

Forbidden Fruits (FB)- The Sohmas meet another cursed family, but this new family isn't cursed by the Chinese Zodiac. They are cursed by the vengeful spirits of European Astrology. The main character is Serena Kamishiro, who's the Leo (lion), and she actually is related to the Sohma family as well.

Romance, Angst

Expected to have 20 to 30 chapters, maybe more…

Musical inspirations: Broken by Seether featuring Amy Lee and Passion by Utada Hikaru

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Untitled (Naruto)- A female chuunin must face the demons of her past and an uncertain future. I haven't really planned this one out yet…

Action/Adventure, Angst (and romance, but that comes in later)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Heart of Perpetual Sin (FMA)- (This is the one I'm most anxious to start…) After a failed human transmutation a young girl must suffer the consequences of what she's reaped, but what she didn't count on was making the eighth sin…Void. When she teams up with the Elric brothers they discover a conspiracy that runs so deep and that will affect not only their lives, but everyone around them. For better or for worse…

Angst, Romance

Expected to have 12 to 15 chapters (short, ne?)

Musical inspiration: Crawling In The Dark by Hoobastank.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The FMA and FB chapter will be up soon. Maybe later this week if I have time after writing chapter 3 of this story. Anyway, REVIEW!

NEXT CHAPTER: Eye Of The Storm

Rock on and HAPPY LATE ST. PATRICK'S DAY!-

Dc-chan


	3. Eye Of The Storm

Dc-chan: Argh, I'm sick again. Bleh. I just took the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) this week and it was painfully easy despite how sickly I was feeling. Why do they make us take that as sophomores anyway at our school? The world may never know…

MCT: Don't get me sick.

Seraph: I like mysterious!

Dc-chan: …Don't you mean mysteries? I need new muses.

MCT & Seraph: Hey!

Dc-chan: Enough nonsense! Anyway, this isn't going to be the last late update. I'm pretty busy the next month or so because the end of the quarter is looming and lots of projects are due. Plus, for Spring Break I'm going to be gone for two whole weeks (EUROPE BABY!) so I'll have to catch up with school work because I'll miss a week of school. So the updates will be probably once to twice a week once April is over. So, yeah, sorry about that.

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue. Simple as that.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Chapter 3 of Define 'Normal'

Eye Of The Storm

Yusuke wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand. "Alright you bastard!" He then clenched his fists tightly as he stared down the demon in front of him. Kuwabara's fallen form was laying a few feet away from him on the ground and Hiei was badly injured. So much for this being as easy as Botan said it would be. According to the ferry girl the demon was supposed to be class B, but Spirit World had either made a grave mistake or that was old information.

The demon laughed, shaking the dark cave walls making bits of rocks rain down. He wasn't the ugliest creature Yusuke had even seen, quite the opposite actually. From a distant he would appear human, but once you got up close you could see the pointed ears and fangs protruding from his mouth. Other than that he had sharp features, messy black hair and passionless silver eyes.

"What's so funny ,now?" Yusuke asked in an agitated voice, not taking his eyes off what the was on the demon's right index finger. He expected the Ring of Darkness to be some gold ring with a huge rock, but it looked totally ordinary. It was just a small yet shiny black stone on a copper band, nothing flashy like he had thought.

"Only the fact that you think you can win." The demon grinned darkly before disappearing than reappearing behind Yusuke and grabbing him so the teenager couldn't move. He squeezed around Yusuke's torso tightly. "It's a shame to waste such a cute thing such as yourself, but orders are orders." He licked Yusuke's cheek with his tongue. "You taste good too."

Yusuke cringed inwardly. _Eww…that bastard just frigging licked me! _He struggled against the coy demon's vice grip angrily. "Let me go, you sack of shit!" He gritted his teeth and trashed around in hope that the demon's grasp would slip up, but it didn't.

"Aw, the little boy wants me to let go of him, right?"

Yusuke's temper skyrocketed. "Why you son of a-"

A spray of blood shot out and Yusuke found himself falling to the ground with the demon's dead body on top of him. Quickly, he pushed it off and scrambled to his feet to found Hiei standing with his katana freshly covered in crimson blood and panting heavily.

"I really owe you one, Hiei." Yusuke sighed shaking his head then wincing in pain from his injuries. He glanced over to Kuwabara who hadn't moved for a while, but he could see the he was still breathing. He knelt down next to the demon's corpse and lifted up the hand that had the ring on it and slid it off before pocketing it. "That almost got out of hand." He looked up at Hiei. "You, okay?"

Hiei put his sword back in its sheath and put his black cloak on. "Of course. This injuries are minor compared to yours and Kuwabara's."

"Right…"

They heard a clapping noise from the entrance of the cave and whirled around to see a familiar looking demoness standing there. Her brilliant orange hair plaited with gold ribbons and wearing a long vermilion dress with a slit up one side.

"Well done." She smile coldly at them, clapping slowly. She then put her hands at her sides and her icy smile became a sinister smirk. "I'm happy that your abilities have improved in these last six months. It will make it all the more fun when I have another go at you."

"Hosaki," Hiei grumbled putting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Let me guess, you hired that youkai to steal the Ring of Darkness to lure us out here."

"Actually, no." Hosaki beamed. "I'm flattered that you thought I had all of this planned out for you, but I really wanted Kurama and Kira to be the ones to come out here. I thought for sure that Koenma would send you guys after the Guardian of Time."

"Things don't always go according to plan." Yusuke glared daggers at her. "Pretty stupid plan if you ask me."

Her red eyes flashed. "You underestimate me." Suddenly fire sprang forth form the cave and completely surrounded them. The huge flames danced around them violently, scorching the stone and rising the temperature considerably.

Yusuke grabbed Kuwabara's unconscious form and pulled him away from the threatening flames as Hiei kept his eyes on the fire demoness. Yusuke couldn't believe what she was doing. After they went through all that trouble six months ago to save her and this was how she repaid them! He steamed silently as the fire drew closer and closer.

"Have fun burning to death." Hosaki hissed before vanishing from their sight. Leaving Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara trapped in the cave.

…

Kira froze and a bead of sweat trickled down her temple. She had abruptly gotten a chill that had the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She hugged herself with her arms and furrowed her brows. "Something's wrong…" she whispered.

Kurama looked at her curiously. "Hm? What's wrong, Kira?"

Both of the teenagers were on the bus on their way to the mountains where Botan said the one who kidnapped the Guardian of Time was. They had already been on the bus well over two hours and the once smooth ride had gotten bumpy as they got further and further away from the city and higher up in the mountains. They were only four people on the bus including them and the bus driver who seemed to want to do anything else, but his job.

She hunched her shoulders over. "I just got a really bad feeling a few moments ago. Its like there's a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach." She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply before exhaling heavily. It had been like someone had just stabbed her in the gut and was twisting the knife.

Kurama's emerald eyes flickered with concern as he put his hands on her shoulders so the bumpy bus ride wouldn't shake her around so much. "Are you feeling alright? You look as pale as a ghost. Should I ask the bus driver to stop so you can throw up?"

WHACK! Kira hit him over the head with the back of her hand.

"Moron!" Kira shouted standing up. "Its not that kind of feeling! Its like the kind when something bad happens to someone close to you and you just sense it!" The bus lurched forward and she grabbed onto the seat in front of her to keep herself from catapulting over it. She sat back down and held her stomach, now feeling very sick. "Maybe I do need to throw up…"

Kurama rubbed the spot on his head where she had hit him. He could feel a lump forming there, but turned his attention to the now ill looking Kira. "I told you so. We'll get off at the next stop and rest there until you feel better." _I knew this was going to happen. She shouldn't be so impulsive._

She nodded weakly, feeling incredibly stupid for hitting him now. _Stupid motion sickness._ Kira sank down in her seat and with her hands over her stomach. She directed her brown eyes at Kurama and muttered a quiet apology. "Sorry about your head." She curled up into a ball on the seat and rested her head on the cool window, trying to relax ,but she couldn't dismiss the cold chill she had felt earlier. The only other time she had sensed something like this was when Koyuki had been in danger. Suddenly, it hit her like a ton of bricks and she sat straight up with a look of alarm. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Kurama asked, confused by how frantic she seemed.

"The others!" She turned to face him. "That feeling wasn't just motion sickness, Kurama…Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei are in danger!" Kira began rocking back and forth nervously. She was having a full blown out spaz attack. "What're we gonna do? This is bad, bad, BAD!"

"I thought you didn't care about Hiei." Kurama said knowing that no matter what he did it wouldn't calm her down. He had learned that a while ago, but sometimes he was still tempted to try.

Kira rolled her eyes, "I don't! I'm worried about Kuwabara and Yusuke! Hiei can die for all I care." She noticed the stern look he gave her. "I meant to say that I couldn't care less about Hiei, but if he dies then I might be sad. Seriously, there could be tears. That's aside the point though! I also got another feeling that we've been double-crossed by someone that I don't really care about…"

Kurama listened to what she was saying. Kira was a psychic so it would be stupid not to. Genkai had told him and the others not to take Kira's premonitions lightly because often enough they were true. Sometimes she was fooling around, but he knew she wouldn't joke around about Yusuke's and Kuwabara's welfare, but Hiei's was another story.

"C'mon, kitsune!" She declared as she grabbed Kurama's sleeve and pulled him up to his feet. Then, with Kurama in tow she marched to the front of the bus. "Yo, bus driver!"

The bus driver turned around to reveal that he was fat man with a tacky blue bus driver uniform on. "What, kid?"

Kira smiled cutely at him and said in her best 'I'm the cutest girl in the world!' voice. "Can you please make a stop here?"

"Lemme think about that kid…" the bus driver scratched his chin. He then bellowed, "NO! GET BACK TO YOUR SEAT AND BE QUIET! You're disturbing the other passengers." He said the last part in a quiet and polite voice.

Kira stood there for a second. She then pouted and puffed out her cheeks like a five-year-old who wasn't getting their way. "Why not?"

"Because," he started, "I'm the bus driver and you're a kid. You're just gonna hafta get off at the next stop like everyone else. Got it?"

Kurama sweatdropped as Kira fumed where she was standing. He cautiously sidestepped away from her. She was like a volcano about to erupt explosively in all her teenage fury. He then saw something he wasn't used to. Instead of exploded, like he expected her to, all she did was bit her bottom lip and glare at the man. Kurama couldn't believe she wasn't cussing him out or threatening to bash his head into the steering wheel. Just when Kurama thought she had became more mature over time she did something unbelievably Kira-ish.

She flipped him the bird and said loudly. "You evil, evil, evil, evil, evil, fat, evil, stupid, evil bus driver! All I'm doing is asking you to stop the friggin bus for ten friggin seconds! Is that too complicated for your tiny, microscopic brain to comprehend?"

Kurama buried his face in his hands in exasperation. "I cannot believe this…"

…

"Kurama? What's wrong? Kurama?" Kira asked irritably as she walked behind Kurama on the dirt road. Over since the bus driver had thrown them off the bus thirty minutes ago they had been walking and he hadn't even said a word to her. "Whatever it is Kurama, I'm sorry. Hey? Are you even listening to me? Kurama?" Her tone had gone from annoyed to more of a whine as she waited for him to answer.

He didn't though. He kept walking along like she wasn't even there which made her more frustrated at him.

"Fine, be that way." She aimed to kick him in the shin, but he moved out of the way. The unbalance caused by her kick not hitting its intended target caused her to fall flat on the ground with her arms sprawled out in front of her like a rag doll.

"People don't like being kicked in the shin, K-chan."

She pushed herself using her hands, "People don't like being ignored, either." She sat up with her legs out in front of her to examine the damage. She had a few scrapes on her arms and a few on her legs. Nothing life threatening though there was some blood.

Kurama bent down next to her, "Are you okay?" His eyes quickly studied her cuts to make sure she was fine. He mentally punched himself. If he hadn't been ignoring her than she wouldn't have gotten herself banged up.

"Am I okay?" She narrowed her brown eyes at him. "AM I OKAY? I FALL OVER AND LAND ON MY FACE BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO ASK IF I'M OKAY WHEN IT'S YOUR FAULT?" Kira stared long and hard at him, noting his guilty expression before grinning broadly and slapping him hard on the back. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Haha! Did I fool you with my amazing acting talents?"

Kurama arched his eyebrows and frowned. "The only talent you have is being a klutz." He didn't say it in a ridiculing way, it was more like teasing. He could see that she was not amused by it because she was making a face at him.

Kira crinkled her nose then stuck her tongue out at him. "At least I have a talent."

Kurama brushed the dust off his pants and got up. He held his hand out to her to help her up, "Here."

She took it hesitantly. It felt awkward to have him help her up, but she ignored the knots that were reforming in her stomach.

When she grabbed his hand his cheeks blushed lightly, but not enough for her to notice. Her small hand felt so delicate in his. It was hard for him to imagine her beating anyone up with her fists when they seemed so fragile.

"Kurama?"

"Yes?"

"Umm…this is weird to say, but…can you let go of my hand?"

"Oh, sorry."

A gust of wind went by fluttering the sleeves of their school uniforms.

Kurama's green eyes widened in shock when he smelt something odd in the air.

Kira gave him a funny look, "What's wrong?"

Another burst of wind rippled through the teenager's crimson hair as he said, "I smell fire."

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Okay, that bus scene was just something random and dragged out too long. I don't know what I was thinking…moving on. Thanks for all the kind reviews! Really, you guys are awesome and rock!

Seraph: Uh oh, she's happy.

MCT: Agreed. This is rather…unusual.

Dc-chan: Put a frigging sock in it both of you!

NEXT CHAPTER: Extinguished Flame

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	4. Extinguished Flame

Dc-chan: YAY! I love cookies!

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Chapter 4 of Define 'Normal'

Extinguished Flame

"Fire?" Kira tilted her head to one side before sniffing the air herself. "I don't smell any smoke or anything. You sure your nose is working?"

Kurama nodded. "I'm positive."

She gave him a doubtful look, it was clear that she had forgotten about his keen sense of smell.

Kurama rubbed his temple, "It all makes sense now…" For the past few minutes he had been thinking and now he realized what it meant. Kira's bad feeling, someone betraying them, the smell of fire…it all added up. It could only be one person who was behind this. "Hosaki." He muttered crossly.

"No way!" Kira snapped repulsively. "Even if she is a bit flaky and no one likes her much she wouldn't do this!"

He couldn't believe his ears. Was she actually defending Hosaki?

"Think about it," he said in a reasonable voice. "Who else would do this? You said that you got the feeling that we were deceived by someone who don't care much for…Hosaki kind of fits that profile, Kira."

"But…but…" Kira tried to arrange the thoughts in her head in an organized way while trying to speak. She looked at Kurama in confusion. "Why? Isn't she totally in love with you or something? Also, she knows if she'd pull a stunt like this you'd kill her!"

Kurama lowered his eyelids. In all truth, he knew the reason why Hosaki would be doing this. However he wasn't sure he wanted to share it with Kira…

_Kurama had just dropped Kira off at her house after school. He was on his way back home and was staring absentmindedly out in front of him. Hardly taking notice of his surroundings. If he had been he would have noticed that it was a particularly nice day with a clear blue sky, but he was lost in thought. He was recalling how Kira had walked into a wall that day and how he had to restrain her from beating up a few kids who had laughed at her when someone called his name._

_"Kurama! It's you!"_

_He turned around to see Hosaki darting down the sidewalk towards him. She flung her arms around him making his body tense up._

_"I haven't seen you in such a long time!" Hosaki smiled kittenishly. She then giggled at his stunned expression. "Glad to see me?" Her ruby eyes scanned his face curiously once he didn't respond. She pulled away from him, her bright cheery eyes now glowering at him bitterly. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me Kurama?"_

_"I…" he trailed off not knowing what to exactly say. He had not expected to see her anytime soon especially here in Ningenkai of all places._

_She jabbed his chest with her index finger, regaining her playful composure. "You've always been bad at conveying your feelings." She clasped his hands with hers affectionately. "I've missed you!" Hosaki gazed at him expectantly._

_"It's…nice to see you too." Kurama managed to say politely._

_Hosaki beamed, ignoring his strained voice. "I had to wait for Koenma to say it was okay for me to come here. Sorry to make you wait so long. After the Sage Youkai case I've been forced to stay in Reikai with Koyuki. It's so boring there. I'm so happy-" She arched an eyebrow as he withdrew his hands from hers. "What's wrong?"_

_"Hosaki," he started, "this didn't work back when I was Yoko Kurama and it isn't going to work now. I thought we had a mutual understanding that we would, you know, move on."_

_Hosaki blinked before shaking her head. "No, no! I thought…you're the one who took me back to Reikai! I thought you still cared!"_

_He sighed deeply at the crestfallen demoness in front of him. "I do, but it's complicated." How could he tell her that he'd didn't have the same feelings anymore? He was sure they had cleared this up awhile ago. Their relationship was in the past now. He wasn't the same youkai he was a thousand years ago._

_She clenched her fists. "There's someone else isn't there? Some one you care for more than you ever did for me, isn't there?" She shouted at him, on the verge of tears. "Some one who means more to you than I ever did! Is that it?" She buried her face in her hands trying to control the rage and sadness consuming her heart._

_Kurama looked away, unsure of how to answer. He never meant to hurt anyone this badly with his feelings, but it was true. He couldn't deny Hosaki's accusations. Kurama focused his green eyes on her and said softly, "Yes, there is."_

_She glared up at him, her red eyes flashing dangerously. "It's that girl, isn't it? What's her name? Kira?" She blinked back her tears. "Is she that important to you?"_

_Kurama gave a forlorn sigh, it was hopeless to explain the situation to her. She wouldn't understand, she never would._

_"Yes." He replied quietly. "She' very important to me." He turned around and walked away, not wanting to discuss this any further with Hosaki. It was none of her business to know how he felt about Kira. He had already divulged more than he should have and part of him knew it._

_"What's so special about that stupid girl?" He heard Hosaki yell furiously at his back._

_He stopped mid-step and glanced over his shoulder grinning nervously. "I know she's a little quirky and eccentric, but it's just that those traits are what draw me to her. When you met someone like that Hosaki, who likes you for who you are, it helps you feel forgiven for past sins." And with that he continued walking home…_

Kurama felt like hitting himself. He folded his arms over his chest. So this was Hosaki's revenge for him not returning her feelings? She wanted to get back at all his friends and probably save the worst for Kira. Knowing Hosaki how he did, she had something particularly nasty in store for the psychic and it was all his fault.

Just then he nose picked up a familiar scent of cinders and roses. He grabbed Kira's arm and pulled her our of the way just as a huge fireball came hurling at her.

"What the hell?" Kira cried as the ball of fire exploded, burning down the surrounding trees. She looked up at Kurama who had one arm around her protectively. She put her hands on his chest and pushed herself away from him. "You could just tell me that a swirling mass of fiery doom was heading in my general direction instead of grabbing me like that!" Kira took a few steps back from him.

"Kira?"

"What?"

"Another swirling mass of fiery doom is heading in your general direction."

"Oh, really? WHAT?" She jumped out of the just in the nick of time before another fireball scorched the ground. "Where the hell did that come from?"

Kurama positioned himself in front of Kira. "Hosaki! Show yourself!" He demanded angrily.

The fire demoness walked out from the shadows of a tree in front of them. "Why hello Kurama." She sneered before shifting her gaze to Kira. "Still protecting that little wench I see. Cute. Adorably, disgusting cute."

"Why you stupid bitch!" Kira shouted trying to get around Kurama who was blocking her path. "Trying to kill everyone just because you got dumped! You're so pathetic!"

"Honestly, wench! Do you have a death wish because if you do then continue to speak to me like you're so much better!" Hosaki spat dryly. "Quit protecting her Kurama. My main quarrel isn't with you, it's with her."

"Hosaki, don't push your luck." Kurama warned icily while narrowing his eyes at her. If he wasn't so busy trying to keep Kira at bay he would've already knocked the fire apparition unconscious.

"C'mon, Kurama!" Kira argued vehemently. "I can take that bitch on! You just go get Yusuke and Kuwabara!" She then hastily added, "And Hiei."

"No." He said in a sharp tone. "You go got them, I'll take care of Hosaki."

"Kurama we can argue about this all day, but they're gonna die unless you got over there and save them. Trust me! I can deal with Hosaki. Don't think of it as fighting, but as violently arguing and disagreeing about her wrapped view on the world and how she thinks everything revolves around her!"

Kurama scowled, knowing that the two females indeed had a score to settle. He also knew that Kira would probably win. "Alright," he said quietly, whispering in her ear. "But don't kill her. I'll go get the others."

Kira cracked her knuckles as he darted off in the direction where the smell of smoke was coming from. "Don't worry about it, it's in the bag! This ugly dragon's going down!"

"What's that?" Hosaki barked fiercely. "I don't think I heard you correctly, you dumb teenage punk wannabe!"

Kira's eye twitched. "What, you fire breathing reptilian bitch?" She flipped Hosaki off with both of her hands.

"You heard me! You're a perfect example of stupid teenage angst and your head's denser than any known metal in the world!"

"Oh yeah? Why don't you back those big words up with some action, you stupid pea brain! At least I got some color in my wardrobe! All you wear is red!"

Hosaki flushed as she was getting more and more peeved by the second. "Why don't you shut that annoying hole below your nose before I rip your head off!"

"I'd like to see you try! At least I'm not whining over losing a boyfriend!"

Clearly, this was going to take awhile…

…

Kurama ran through the forest as quick as he could. Over the treetops he could see the dark smoke from the fire billowing into the sky. He jumped over a fallen log and continued sprinting. Through the trees he could see the cave entrance and the flickering orange flames. He pushed branches out of his way as he made his way into the clearing right in front of the cave. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand, the smell of smoke becoming almost unbearable for his sensitive nose.

"Yusuke? Kuwabara? Hiei?" He shouted their names over the roaring flames, praying he wasn't too late to help.

"What took you so long?" It was Yusuke's voice, but it wasn't coming from inside the cave.

Kurama turned his head to the left to see the others there, covered in blood and slightly fringed from the fire, but alive.

Yusuke raised his hand, "Hey! I was wondering when someone was gonna show up. It's a drag carry Kuwabara around."

Hiei had his hands in his cloak and his head cocked to one side. "Did you already take care of Hosaki?"

"Well, actually, Kira's taking care of her as we speak." He said in a relieved voice. "How did you guys get out?"

"It was pretty easy." Yusuke answered, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. ""Hosaki must think we're all super lame or something if she thought that her stupid fire would keep us trapped in that cave. Without a doubt, she underestimated us."

"Agreed." Hiei said.

Kurama sweatdropped. _So all that worrying was really for nothing then._ He then saw Kuwabara's body on the ground behind Yusuke and Hiei. "We should get back to Kira, just in case she's having difficulties. I'll carry Kuwabara."

…

"Why don't you cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it!"

"You've got some nerve for a hanyou! Why don't you crawl back under the rock you climbed out from under, urchin!"

"How about you shut the hell up? Or is that too hard for a big mouth like you?"

"I don't see why you were so worried, Kurama." Yusuke said, holding back his laughter, but finding it hard to. "They're still arguing."

Kurama, who had Kuwabara's arm slung over his shoulder and his own arm supporting the body, was even more relieved now that Kira and Hosaki hadn't torn each other to pieces while he was away.

"I see I'm not needed here anymore." Hiei snorted before disappearing, feeling that he should leave before the display of stupidity before them became amusing as amusing to him as it was to Yusuke. He really didn't want to get involved with any of this.

"I think we should stop them before this escalates." Kurama said to Yusuke as he laid Kuwabara down on the ground.

"Good idea."

…

Kira sulked on Kurama's bed while hugging a pillow to her chest. "I don't see why you had to stop it just before things got interesting." She glared at him intensely with her brown eyes. "At least Hosaki is in Reikai prison where she belongs."

Kurama, who was sitting on the other side of the bed, looked up at her from his homework. "You really wanted to fight her, didn't you?"

She fluffed the pillow she was holding diligently. "Of course! What she needs is a good pounding! You know, knock some sense into that hot head of hers!"

"You hate her?" He asked, putting his schoolwork next to him on the bed so he could give her his full attention.

"Well…no…yeah…" Kira trailed off while furrowing her brows. Hate was an awfully strong word to use. Hosaki did try to kill her, twice now. Although the second time probably wouldn't count to some people as they spent that entire encounter calling each other names and flinging insults back and forth. "I suppose I do. She's just so frustrating. It bugs me when people can only think about their own problems and don't care how much their revenge pisses other people off."

"I see." Kurama rested his chin in the palm of his hand. Maybe Kira wasn't as unobserving as everyone thought.

"I don't get why she wanted to fight me though." Kira said suddenly. "I thought it was you she was after. Do you know why? When you think about it, what the hell did I ever do to her?"

Kurama stared up at the ceiling in his room so he wouldn't be looking at Kira, afraid that his eyes might tell her the reason. "Maybe she was jealous of you…"

Kira stared at him deadpan. You could see the clueless ness written blatantly on her face."Jealous of me?"

He put his arms behind his head and leaned back on his bed, letting his legs hang over the edge. "You've got a lot of things going for you, you know?"

She 'phffted' at this. Why was he talking about now? This was probably going to turn out like those confusing conversations they had when they were younger. A discussion filled with hidden meanings on his part and unashamed bewilderment on hers. She decided to play along this time. "Like what?"

"You're smart, outspoken, funny, athletic, determined, a bit cynical and cute." He let the last part slip out.

"Cute?" Kira blushed a deep shade of pink. _He thinks I'm cute!_ She then put the pillow down and lowered her head, moping. _Great, the very bane of my existence is cuteness. Perfect_. She felt like being called cute was worse than him calling her K-chan. Especially when there wasn't anything remotely cute about herself.

Kurama propped himself up on his elbows. "I didn't meant to upset you." He said with concern, eyeing her gloomy expression.

"Do you really think I'm cute?" She inquired shakily, her hands trembling as she held tightly onto the hem of her school uniform's skirt. Her crimson bangs hanging over her half-closed eyes.

"Yes, I do." He smiled uncertainly at her, hoping this was the right thing to say, but immediately he knew he had made a mistake because she stood up, her eyes focused on the carpeting in his room.

She ran a hand through her hair and grinned at him like he hadn't said anything at all, like nothing had happened. "I'll see you tomorrow at school." She left his room hastily. He heard her walk into a wall in the hallway because there was a loud THUD! sound.

He flopped back down on his bed, but with his arms and legs spread out, his red hair pooled around him. He couldn't help but wonder why she had reacted like that. All he said was that she was cute. Maybe that was being too forward? Did she suspect his feelings now? A million questions started popping in his mind, each more complex and unanswerable as the next.

"Shuichi?" His mother knocked on his door. "Can I come in?"

He sat up, "Yes." He put his arms behind him so he could slightly lean back.

She opened the door slowly and walked in holding a hamper of clothes under one of arms. "Kira comes over a lot, doesn't she? I asked her if she wanted to stay for dinner, but she said she couldn't. She seemed a bit flustered. I hope you didn't do something too forward with her." She gave her son a suspicious look.

"I didn't, at least I think I didn't." He felt awkward talking to his mother about Kira.

Shiori winked, "Don't worry. She'll come around in time and in the future you both will give me adorable little grandchildren, right?"

Kurama blushed a little. "Isn't it a little too early to think about that?" He chuckled anxiously. She couldn't be serious about something like that. It was far too early to even consider such an inane idea.

"Oh, but I am." She said putting her free hand on her hip. "Kira's turning into a fairly attractive young lady and I think I know my own son. It's hard for me to imagine you wouldn't notice that with all the time you two spend together." She laughed softly at his mystified expression. "Kira aside now, are you free on Saturday night in two weeks?"

He nodded, wondering why she had asked.

"You see," she continued, "Kira's mother is getting engaged and that night they're having the engagement party at their house."

"Really?" said Kurama in surprise. "Kira didn't mention anything about that."

"Rika-san wants it to be a surprise. Although I told her it would be better to tell Kira sooner because she seems like the type to overreact." She put her fist under her chin thoughtfully. "Oh well, Kira will find out eventually beforehand. Rika-san was never good at keeping secrets."

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dc-chan: KH2 bitches! I've been playing it since I got it! The opening graphics are amazing although I like the Japanese version of the theme song much better, but it's still really pretty!

MCT: You haven't beaten Chain of Memories yet, have you?

Dc-chan: -hits MCT with a fan- Quiet you! Now for something I haven't done in a LOOONG while…AN OMAKE!

--OMAKE THEATRE 1--

**BLOOPER REEL TIME!**

Kira: -reading Satsuki's mind-

Satsuki: _First I'll cut off her limbs and feed them to piranhas. Then I'll skin her alive very slowly so I enjoy her tormented screaming. Afterwards, I'll dip her bloody body into a pool of salt water and laugh while she screams in agony. Then I'll throw her into a molten pit of liquid hot magma! MUWHAHAHA!_

Kira: Eh…that's slightly disturbing…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Youkai: It's a shame to waste such a cute thing such as yourself, but orders are orders.

Yusuke: Are you making a pass at me?

Youkai: …maybe -grins evilly-

Yusuke: Well, I have news for you moron! I DON'T SWING THAT WAY ALRIGHT?

Dc-chan: -talking through megaphone- Oi, Yu-kun. You're ruining the scene, you've got to learn to be open minded about these sorts of things.

Yusuke: Says the biggest closet pervert in the world!

Dc-chan: -blush- You're FIRED YU-KUNNNNN!

Yusuke: You can't fire me!

Dc-chan: I just did now, ahem…SECURITY! GOT THIS PUNK OFF MY SET!

Note: due to Yusuke's lack of cooperation with the original script this part of the chapter had to be re-written when Dc-chan found out that she couldn't actually fire him because too many people would complain. xD

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kira: Maybe I do need to throw up…

Kurama: We'll get off at the next stop then.

Kira: I don't feel well, I think I'm really gonna puke. I don't think I should've had that strawberry mochi for a snack.

Kurama: Eh? This isn't in the script.

Kira: Blehhhh

Kurama: Dc-chan! Kira's really sick! I think it might be food poisoning.

Kira: x.X

Dc-chan: OKAY! WHO THE HELL PUT OUT STALE MOCHI ON THE SNACK TABLE?

Random stage hand: My bad.

Dc-chan: YOU'RE FIRED!

Yusuke: You like firing people, don't you?

Kuwabara: Too much of The Apprentice, I guess.

Dc-chan: Have you two memorized your lines for the next chapter?

Kuwabara and Yusuke: …

Dc-chan: SLACKERS! YOU'RE FIRED AS WELL!

**END BLOOPER REEL**

MCT: Running low on funny juices, ne?

Dc-chan: Bite me.

NEXT CHAPTER: Trouble On The Horizon

Rock on and LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

p.s. THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!


	5. Honesty

Dc-chan: Hey everyone! I'm back! Scotland was pretty tight, but then I got sick when I came home so I ended up missing ANOTHER day of school. So that's six days of missed school…I have so much catching up to do I don't even want to begin thinking about it. I've almost beaten KH2 now though I've only technically been playing it for five days cuz I was gone for two weeks. So far, it's pretty good, but there are WAY TOO MANY cut scenes. It's kinda annoying.

MCT: Quit talking and start the chapter!

Seraph: No one wants to hear what you have to say anyway.

Dc-chan: Shut it or I'll disassemble MCT and sell her for parts then I'll take your pitchfork away, Seraph.

Disclaimer: I do these infrequently, don't I? NEWAYZ, the YYH characters don't belong to me although the little voice in my head is trying to convince me it's okay to poke Hiei in his third eye…

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Chapter 5 of Define 'Normal'

Honesty (I changed the chapter title, got a problem with it?)

_An array of colorful flowers were in bloom around the reflection pool in the bailey. Two large willow trees shadowed over a patch of grass were two people were sitting: one a beautiful girl and the other a handsome young man. Their laughter and cheery voices echoed off the courtyard's stone walls. It seemed like they were trapped in their own perfect world, without a care of what existed outside the castle. It was their sanctuary._

"Kamiyama?"

_There were dark rain clouds blanketing the night sky. Thunder boomed and lightning clashed as torrents of heavy rain came down like waterfalls. The earth was soft and muddy from such heavy rain. The dark haired young man was wearing a black cloak and was crouched on the damp ground, his body quivering as he held the body of the woman in his arms. Her skin pale as snow and covered in blood. Her eyes wide open and staring off at the clouds above, lifeless and empty like two hollow marbles. The man threw back his head and howled in agony. The once perfect world he had learned to love was now shattered._

"Are you paying attention? Kamiyama?"

Kira blinked to find herself sitting in the middle of her classroom with the teacher in front of her desk, glaring down at her. He slammed the book in his hands closed. "Were you even listening to the lecture? Do you even know what class you're in?"

She looked around the room dazed. She couldn't explain what ad just happened. The two sequences that had just played before her eyes were like blurred dreams. Kira could only recall faint details from each one yet they had seemed so clear just a second ago.

"Kamiyama!"

Kira focused back on her teacher who was now fuming at her, his vein in his temple throbbing. "Math class?"

Quiet giggles and snickers filled the classroom as the teacher rolled his eyes.

"Umm…" Kira thought for a moment. What class did she have now? She honestly couldn't remember. She didn't have any materials on her desk so she was at a loss. "Japanese?" Her eyes darted to the clock above the doorway, half past eleven. She clenched her fist triumphantly as she realized what period it was for her. "Oh! I know! History! This is history class!"

The teacher shook his head sadly. It was no use. Getting through to this particular student was like trying to break down a brick wall with a rubber ducky. It wasn't happening nor was it worth the effort. Still he yelled at her in vain. "Would it kill you to listen to a lecture once in a while or is that asking for too much Kamiyama?"

"What an airhead…" Satsuki muttered to her friend who nodded in agreement.

Kira, who overheard the remark, shot them both nasty looks. "How about you two shut the hell up?"

"Kamiyama!" The teacher said in alarm.

Satsuki and her friend gave Kira cross looks, but didn't say anything.

"I won't tolerate behavior like that is this class!" He warned her, shaking his finger angrily.

Kira stood up and slung her book bag over her shoulder, "Well, I'm outta here anyway. The loser population might infect me with their lameness if I don't get out of here soon." She left the classroom, ignoring the teacher yelling at her to come back or else.

A few hours later Kira was sitting on a bench in the park with her hands behind her head, sighing occasionally at the crappy morning. Why did her life have to be so stupid and complicated? The kids and teachers at school just didn't get it, but she couldn't exactly tell them she was a hanyou with psychic powers. That would be a one-way ticket to the loony bin for sure.

She heard faint footsteps coming her way and she turned her head slightly to see Takuto walking casually towards her.

"Mind if I sit here?" He asked with a grin.

She shrugged and got up. "Why do you need my permission? It's a public park, sit wherever you want. It's not like I care."

"Well," he said scratching the back of his neck, "it's supposedly polite to ask someone you know if you can sit next to them."

Kira scrunched her nose, now understanding that he wanted to sit next to her. "I was just getting ready to leave," she lied quickly.

Takuto raised an eyebrow, "Why don't I believe that?" He sat down with his right arm draped over the bench. "Are you afraid your boyfriend's gonna find out or something?"

"My boyfriend?"

"Shuichi." He said curtly. Takuto noticed her reproachful expression after he said the name. "Oh…so he ISN'T your boyfriend." He directed his purple eyes off into another direction.

Kira put her hands on her hips, "Of course he isn't! What would give you such a weird idea? We're just friends!"

"You two do spend a lot of time together so that kinda hints…you know." He flashed her a smile. "So are you gonna sit back down?"

Kira studied him carefully. He seemed like a cheerful guy, it was like nothing fazed him. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he seemed awfully happy that Kurama wasn't her boyfriend. Though, she didn't understand where such an absurd idea came from. Hesitantly, she sat back down on the wooden bench, not taking her eyes off him.

"What do you want anyway?" She questioned.

"Hm?" He blinked. "What do I want?" He gave her a thoughtful look before breaking out into a grin again. "I've actually wanted to talk to you for a while. You seem like someone who's relatively down to earth and you're quite interesting."

"Then why didn't you talk to me earlier?"

"Shuichi kinda scared me off. Me gave me a freaky glare. Besides, what I want to talk about is strictly business. You see, I'm another Reikai Tantei."

"That's nice…" it took a few seconds for his words to sink in and when it did, she spazzed out. "YOU'RE A WHAT? HOW CAN THAT BE? KOENMA WOULD'VE TOLD ME IF SOMEONE LIKE YOU WERE TRANSFERING INTO MY SCHOOL!"

He put his index finger to his lips, "Calm down. You'll attract attention. I wasn't supposed to tell you, though so don't tell Koenma that I told you or anyone else. This is a secret, okay?"

Kira lowered her voice, but her eyes were still as wide as saucers. "Why is it a secret?"

"The fact that you know that I'm a Reikai Tantei won't have to be a secret for too much longer because I'm supposed to help you guys with your case, but what I'm about to tell you is something the others don't want you to know."

Kira held her breathe, she could feel that what he was about to say was going to be something big.

"It's about Kokuei…"

…

Kurama was sitting in his chair at his desk doing his homework. He was having trouble concentrating on it and kept gazing out of his window. He couldn't help, but feel something was out of place. It was unusual for Kira not to meet him after school by the front gate regardless if she had skipped classes or not. To make matters worse, he had overheard Satsuki telling her friends that after Kira left class Takuto went after her. This disturbed him. He had a hunch that Takuto was interested in her, but he didn't know why and it was frustrating him.

What was Takuto up to?

He bit his bottom lip, but his thoughts were interrupted by a tapping sound on his window. He looked up and saw Hiei standing on the tree branch outside looking annoyed, as usual.

Kurama got up hastily and opened the window to let the fire apparition inside.

Hiei jumped in and stood in the middle of his friend's room.

"Is something up, Hiei?" Kurama asked going back over his desk and closing his textbook.

"As a matter of fact, something is indeed up." Hiei gave the fox a stern look. "That boy is talking to Kira about something she shouldn't know."

Kurama tilted his head, "That boy?"

"The one with messy brown hair and purple eyes…"

"…Takuto…" Kurama folded his arms across his chest, "he's telling Kira about-"

"Kokuei." Hiei finished for him before dashing out the window. "Thought you'd like to know."

…

"I can't believe it." Kira whispered quietly. "He's still alive out there somewhere…" She knew there had been something the others hadn't been telling her, but something on this magnitude, why didn't they tell her? She lowered her eyelids. "Why did you tell me if the others didn't?"

"You two are connected, you both have bonds with one another that are deeper than most. This kind of information is kinda like your right to know." Takuto answered openly. "Besides, you'd probably find out sooner or later. Better sooner than later, am I right?"

She didn't respond. She could barely even think, there was so much anger swelling up in her. Kira tightened her hands into little balls and hit the side of the bench with her left fist. "How could they not tell me this?"

"Are you upset I told you?"

Kira shook her head. "No, I'm grateful you did. You're the only one who has been honest with me." She buried her face in her hands, still trying to get a grip on the situation.

Takuto rose to his feet warily, "I should be going. My sister is probably worried sick by now." He waved over his shoulder as he walked away.

Kira narrowed her brown eyes after him. She didn't know how exactly to feel right now. Sure, she was upset at her so called friends, but she felt like she should've expected this kind of behavior from them. It was just like them to keep her in the dark about Kokuei. Thinking the best way to keep her safe from him was to keep her completely ignorant to him. Didn't they understand the connection between herself and him? They were drawn to each other despite the danger, it was a force out of both of their control that was driving their lives towards one another. No one else could understand how that felt.

She pulled her knees in and hugged them as she lowered her head, "I can't believe this. After all this time, he's still out there somewhere."

She felt a hand touch her shoulder and wasn't surprised when she looked up to see Kurama standing behind her with a combination or worry and anxiety on his face. His eyebrows were scrunched above his emerald eyes and his mouth was frowning slightly.

"Kira?" He said her name gingerly, hoping to diffuse the situation before it worsened.

Kira pulled away from him sulkily. "What the hell do you want?" She wasn't in the mood for his calming methods. "Or did you come here to be honest with me finally?"

Kurama put his hands up in front of him. "Listen, Kira. Whatever Takuto told you, the reason we didn't tell you was for your safety. Believe me, we wanted to, but Koenma forbad it." It hurt him to see her so upset. He could tell she was trying her best to hold everything back.

"I don't care what that toddler said you could and couldn't tell me!" She gritted her teeth. "We're friends Kurama, friends tell each other these things. I don't want to hear these things from strangers! I'd rather you tell me than hearing it from someone else!"

"Kira…" he murmured almost inaudibly. He reached his hand out to her, but she swatted it away like it was a fly. He looked down, feeling ashamed of himself. In a way it made him feel sick to his stomach to feel like this. All he wanted was to protect her, but he didn't even have her trust anymore.

"Look," she sighed heavily and putting her index finger on his chest and furrowed her brows. "Believe it or not, I don't like getting mad and pissy at you, but sometimes you deserve it." Kira then pinched his cheek. "Quit looking so glum, I'm the one who's supposed to be stressed out here."

Kurama inhaled sharply. "Kira, I'm sorry you had to find out this way." He couldn't putting her through this, but there was nothing he could do. He had to obey Koenma regardless of his own feelings, even if Kira might not ever understand how he felt about her.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. He had a way of making her feel so guilty. A few minutes ago when Takuto had told her about Kokuei she had been ready to tear Kurama limb from limb, but now she couldn't even bring herself to shout at him. True, she was frustrated with him, but when he had that forlorn, gloomy face she felt so bad about nearly going off on him. She couldn't guarantee that if this happened again she wouldn't go off, she probably would, this was almost all she could take of his dishonesty. She wasn't a simple, one-track minded teenager like everyone thought she was. She had feelings, mostly angry feelings albeit, but she couldn't help it.

"I-it's okay," Kira stammered uncharacteristically.

Kurama directed his green eyes down at her, he could tell she was doing everything she could do to avoid eye contact with him. He rolled his teeth over his bottom lip, knowing Koenma was not going to like what he was going to say next. "From here on out, I swear to tell you whenever something about Kokuei comes up. How does that sound?"

Kira slowly lifted her gaze to his, "Is that a promise?"

"Of course."

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

DC-chan: I was going to have this chapter up sooner, but I was in MAJOR procrastination mood this weekend and I had to work on a stupid translation for stupid Spanish because my stupid group is stupid and is making me translate the stupid thing for our project. So, sorry. I have been really ticked because of this. I hate having people rely on me for these sorts of things.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Guardian of Time pt. 1


	6. The Guardian of Time, Stage I

DC-chan: Yay, I beat Kingdom Hearts II on both Standard and Proud mode only dying three times all together! It's actually a really easy, straightforward game to beat…but my friends had trouble with it. I laugh at them. I GOTS FINAL FORM IN BOTH OF THEM TOO WHICH IS THE COOLEST FORM EVAAAA! To hell with Wisdom form…

MCT: And you call us cruel?

Seraph: You're the cruel one, I'm the hot, pitchfork wielding figment of her imagination.

DC-chan: Anyway, four new bad guys introduced in this chapter. Their names mean 'discord', 'chaos', 'despair' and 'pain' (not in any particular order). What delightful things could they possibly have in store for the Reikai Tantei?

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, happy?

**XXXXXXX**

Chapter 6 of Define 'Normal'

The Guardian of Time Stage 1 Enter The Necromancer

The sky was dark with no stars or moon to give off light. The trees were dead and withered, resembling huge skeletons surrounded by wilted flowers. It was always night in this place, the sun never shone.

Four cloaked figures meet under the largest hollow tree with twisted branches that looked like mangled arms reaching out towards the night sky. One was holding a lantern to provide some light amidst the darkness and in his other hand was a silver chain that attached to a collar around the neck of a young child that was standing, solemnly behind him.

"Is that the child?"

"Yes, this is it." He tugged on the chain gruffly so the child staggered forward into the lantern's glow. The child had long silver hair, baby blue eyes, small pointed ears and sickly pale skin. The outline of an hourglass was tattooed in black ink on the child's forehead.

"It has the symbol of time."

"Our plan can finally begin now. In a few days time, on the full moon in Ningenkai when the child's powers are strongest we will begin dismantling the past to recreate the future."

"Whoever changes the past according to their will can control the future, but in order to do so we need to prevent certain…entities from ever existing."

The all nodded in agreement. Too long had they stayed in the shadows waiting for the chance to strike and now, with the help of a pitiful fire demoness whom they had used like a puppet, they held an ace up their sleeves. To control time was to control life itself, they all knew that and that is why they formulated a plan such as this.

The figure holding the chain in his hand jerked it forward sending the young child stumbling to its feet on the rocky ground and whimpering quietly. "Sniveling brat…" the figure spat, tightening his grip on the chain before looking up at his accomplice across from him. "Ranmyaku, I trust you to take care of things in the present for the time being."

His cohort nodded in understanding. "Of course, Zetsubou-sama." He put his right hand over his heart and bowed before disappearing in a black cloud of smoke.

"Are you sure it's wise to trust Ranmyaku? He is the youngest of us all. Shouldn't I or Kurushimi take care of things here while you go back in time?"

He waved his hand for silence. "He will got the job done or suffer the consequences, Atsureki."

"Well, if you say so."

With that the remaining figures vanished into darkness.

…

Kira wanted to bang her head on the desk. Why did school have to be so damn boring? Didn't teachers realize that students had better things to do then sit in a classroom all day and learn useless information. Even the Algebra teacher had told them that they'd probably never use this kind of stuff in real life anyway unless they wanted to be math teachers too. As if.

She put her hands over her head as her rested her forehead against the desk, hoping to block out whatever the hell the teacher was saying.

She was too busy thinking about yesterday and looking forward to going to the arcade to meet Kuwabara and Yusuke, but mostly the tension of yesterday was still hanging over her head like a large storm cloud.

Why had they wanted to keep that hidden from her? Why? Why did they even think they could keep such a thing like that secret from her? Why? Why? WHY?

Even though Kurama had promised to tell her everything regarding Kokuei, she had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her he wouldn't be able to. Maybe there were some things best left secret and unknown to her regarding Kokuei, but it shouldn't have been up to Koenma or Kurama to decide what to and what not to tell her.

The bell rang, interrupting her thoughts which made her glad because she had a feeling she has almost at the point of being too angst over the whole stupid situation.

"Lunchtime," the teacher announced unnecessarily as kids were already getting their lunches out of their book bags.

Kira hastily decided to take this opportunity to find Kurama and at least talk to him about yesterday reasonably, without her losing face. They didn't really talk about it after the incident, all that happened was he made the promise and she then left sulking.

She left the classroom and walked down the hallway. Lots of student were filing out into the school's front yard for it was a really nice day outside so it was kind of like a current of people. You know, when everyone's going one way and you're going the other and sometimes you dragged off into the direction you don't want to go because everyone but you is pushing that way. Like that, but Kira tactfully avoided this current by ducking into the nook where the water fountain was until the crowd passed.

After the storm had passed (more like a horde of students to be literal and less confusing) she continued in the direction of Kurama's classroom, silently hoping he hadn't been part of the brainless mob leaving the school for lunch. She highly doubted he was still in the classroom though, doing extra credit work or studying more.

Usually an underclassmen would feel a little fear while walking into the senior section of the school, but Kira had been here countless of times to know that the glares she was receiving from upperclassmen were just empty threats. Who would actually be stupid enough to pick a fight on school grounds if it meant expulsion? Even she wasn't dumb enough to pull something like that, she'd never hear the end of it from Kurama or her mother.

She finally reached the door and opened it, peering carefully inside and so that her body was hidden behind the door.

He was sitting in the front row with his head bent low and a textbook on his table, obviously studying or looking at a perverted magazine and hiding it, giving everyone who glimpsed him the illusion he was studying. Kira, knowing him, knew that idea was too far fetched and he was doing the former, not the later.

"Nerd…" she mumbled to herself. _Who in this world ACTUALLY wastes their time studying?_

Kurama looked up from his book and turned around in his seat right after Kira slammed the door in a panic and leaned her back against it. _Oh, shit! Did he hear me? I didn't mean to call him a nerd! It just came out! I knew this was a bad idea! Very bad idea! Bad, stupid, moronic Kira!_

Just as she finished racking her brain for a good excuse and turned to face the door, the door flew open and hit her right in the face. The impact surprised her so much, since she hadn't been expecting it, it knocked her down on the ground on her rear end.

"Kira?" Kurama, the one responsible for opening said door, said, not realizing what had happened until he saw Kira sitting on the ground and rubbing her nose which was very, very red. His emerald eyes widened and he knelt down next to her, "Are you alright?" He didn't mean to hit her in the face with the door! It just happened!

She crossed her legs and glared at him (while still rubbing her nose which hurt a lot), "I'm okay, just watch out when you're opening doors next time. Man, if I was a normal girl my nose would probably be broken and I would hate you for the rest of my life." She stood up and brushed her skirt off while scrunching her nose like a rabbit which made it hurt even more so she stopped scrunching it.

He got to his feet and laughed nervously. "Well, I'm glad you're not a normal girl, then." She seemed fine and if she was being cynical despite the pain then everything was okay. He was basically worrying for nothing. He then remembered hearing her peek into his class. "Oh yeah, Kira, did you need something?"

She gave him a blank look and blinked twice. "Huh?"

"You did come to my classroom, didn't you?" Kurama asked, raising an eyebrow. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at how clueless she looked.

She furrowed her brows in concentration. "I wanted to…talk to you…about something important…" she trailed off. Great, now she couldn't remember what the hell she wanted to talk to him about.

"Something important?" He looked up at the ceiling for a few moments before focusing his eyes back on her. His thoughts then shifted to how cute she looked when she was confused before he chased those thoughts away. _Focus!_ He scolded and mentally slapped himself. _She wants to talk to you and you're thinking about how cute she is? What's wrong with me?_

"Kurama?" Kira gave him a quizzical expression. _He's so weird._ She put her hands behind her back. "I just remembered what it was."

"You what?" He then scratched the back of his neck feeling embarrassed. "So, um…what is it?" He sweatdropped anxiously. Why did he have to look like such a dork at times in front of her? Even though she knew him better than most people, she had only seen a few sides of who he was: his studious side, being the model son, the perfect student, the serious fighter, etc. There was so much more about himself that she didn't know.

"I know this is going to be difficult to talk about," she sighed heavily, "but about yesterday…Takuto was just…I don't want you to get the wrong idea…" Words were failing her, she couldn't express her emotions this way. She felt so stifled, like a flame confined to a single candle and silently cackling through the night. "I was upset…I just want to know…a reason…"

Kurama tried to understand what she was saying, but her words made no sense. They were fragments of discontinued and jumbled thoughts all trying to come out at once. He put one arm across his chest and rested his other elbow on it so he could cup his chin in his hand.

Kira frowned slightly before noticing Kurama's concerned expression. She shifted her feet a bit now getting uncomfortable. Maybe brining this subject up was a stupid mistake. It was all in the past, wasn't it?

Suddenly the sound of shattering glass broke the awkward silence. Pieces of broken class from the classroom window hit the ground like hail.

Both Kira and Kurama rushed back into the classroom to see what was up as they heard a few girls shirk and run out of the room.

A black cloaked figure was posed crouching down with one hand on the ground and the other on his waist. It almost seemed like he was trying to make a dramatic and cool entrance. He stood up slowly and turned to where the two teenagers were standing. He moved his hand from his waist, Kira and Kurama being cautious got into fighting stances, but there was no need (yet) because all he was doing was pulling down his black hood.

"Hey." The stranger said pleasantly, smiling at them as if he wasn't the one who had just broken the window. He had light blonde hair with bangs in his face and covered his ears, also it was fanned slightly in the back making him seem a bit girly. His eyes were large and blue with a black upside down triangle under the left one.

"Someone you know?" Kira whispered to Kurama out of the corner of her mouth.

Kurama shook his head. "I've never seen him before."

"Then why the hell is he being so informal with us?" She yelled, forgetting to whisper and immediately clamping her hands over her mouth.

The stranger chuckled frivolously. "Sorry about my rude entrance, but I knew it would catch your attention. It did, didn't it? Or maybe I should've smashed through a wall? Or maybe I should've blown up a part of the school? I guess I just did whatever came to my mind first. Now that I'm thinking about it…I could've done something much cooler than jumping in through a window."

Kira arched an eyebrow. This guy was like on a different planet or in a different solar system. She couldn't help, but think the word 'weirdo'.

Kurama, on the other hand, wasn't taking this as lightly as Kira. He could sense the spiritual energy this new presence was hiding and the lust for destruction. He glanced down at Kira who was staring dumbfounded at the guy as if she couldn't take this seriously anymore.

"Anyway," the stranger said waving his hand dismissively. "As you can probably guess, I'm here to fight and kick some ass. So, shall we get this party started? I'm Ranmyaku, your executioner!" He snapped his fingers and small white flames encircled him and began spinning rapidly as the room got much darker. "Kyonshi! Tachinoboru!" (Reanimated corpses! Rise up!)

The individual white flames stopped spinning and each one morphed into a white, human sized creature with black hole where the eyes were supposed to be and their rib cages protruding out. Their arms were dragging on the floor and they had long nails. Their heads were flopped to one side as if they had no strength in their neck to support it and instead of talking their teeth made chattering sounds.

"What the hell?" Kira yelped, raising her arm up as a guard. "Those things don't look like corpses!"

Ranmyaku shook a finger at her simply. "These are spiritually powered imbued corpses. I didn't say they were human corpses." He sneered at her, "And because of their spiritual power, they are much harder to get rid of." He snapped his fingers again and the white creatures lunged viciously at Kira and Kurama.

Kurama dodged swiftly and pulled out a rose. "Rose whip!" The rose sprouted into a thorny green whip and he slashed two of the corpses to bits in seconds, but instead of staying down they fused together to reform the two fallen creatures.

Kira concentrated some of her energy into the palm of her hand and blasted one of them, but before she could gloat about it the creature sprang back and lashed at her shoulder making four deep cuts and tearing up her sleeve. Blood oozed from the wound and stained her blouse.

"You can't get rid of them that way." Ranmyaku teased as he watched in amusement and smirking at the trouble they were having.

Kira and Kurama stood back to back as the white monsters surrounded them menacingly, coming closer and closer every second.

"Any bright ideas, kitsune?" She inquired hopefully. He must have an idea at least! He was the Reikai Tantei's main strategist after all! He was the one who had the brilliant idea to use Neko to capture Shikyo's soul.

"I think I have one," he muttered back to her. "But, it might be a bit risky…"

Kira glowered fiercely at him, "Well then, spill it! I don't know about you, but I don't want to die for a third time!"

He didn't even think this situation was bad enough for someone to die, but Kira liked to hyperbole. Or maybe she was being dead serious. It was hard to tell with someone as playful as her.

He craned his neck down and told her his plan in her ear. "One of us has to keep these corpses busy while the other attacks Ranmyaku. Since he's controlling them, if we defeat him we therefore defeat these things."

"That's your genius plan?" Kira gawked at him. Was this really the best plan that Kurama could consider? She had suspected a method on the lines of dragons, spirits, youkai, anything! Maybe she just had a really big imagination and was feeling a bit rejected because her scheme was way too unrealistic.

"Can you think of anything else?"

"Iie." She said in reply. "So, I'm guessing you want to keep these things distracted while I kick that bastard's ass, right?"

Kurama sweatdropped, "Actually, I was hoping it would be vice versa."

Kira's face dropped, "Oh." She bit her bottom lip unsurely, "Right. I knew that."

"So, does that sound good?" He asked as the Kyonshi drew closer to them slowly.

She shrugged, "Well, I can't think of anything else." She darted forward and kick one of the Kyonshi to the ground before turning around to give Kurama the thumbs up. "You can count on me Kurama-daioh!" Just as she cracked a smile one of the Kyonshi hit her so hard she went flying into the teacher's desk. "I'm…okay…" she said meekly, raising her hand despite the pain that was surging through her back from crashing into the furniture.

Kurama paled, maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but he still needed to concentrate at his task at hand: defeating Ranmyaku.

Ranmyaku folded his arms over his chest and grinned deviously. "So you want to fight me, huh?" He scanned Kurama quickly with his blue eyes, totally ignoring how his Kyonshi were fairing against Kira who was now pummeling the crap out of them for making her look stupid and weak. Ranmyaku had been warned about their prowess, but he was still acting like a cocky little prick. The way he spoke to them, his body language and how he was looking at them were all indicators that he saw the two teenagers as inferior to him.

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponents." Kurama warned bitterly, Ranmyaku finally getting on his nerves. No, this guy was WAY passed getting on his nerves. Kurama was, shall we say, getting extremely angry right now. This guy had come into his school while he and Kira were unprepared, destroyed a window, scared his classmates, unleashed Kyonshi who were reeking havoc on the room and was now giving him some smug attitude.

Ranmyaku brushed him off, "Everyone says that, but they're all losers in the end. I have to say though, I like your guts so I'm gonna reward you with something special that only a few lucky youkai have seen." He pulled down his cloak sleeve and grabbed his arm, a dark aura surrounded it and it seemed like he had began pulling something out of his own arm. A long white sword tinted in crimson came out of his arm and now he held it in his hand, but his left arm was now hanging limply at his side. Ranmyaku held up the sword proudly. "This is what I like to call Sword of Bones. It's the bone from my left arm, but I manipulate my own bone structure in addition to necromancy and make weapons from them."

Kurama narrowed his emerald eyes, indeed, it was a nice trick, but it had one serious flaw.

Ranmyaku held up his sword so the sharp tip was facing Kurama. He was challenging the fox, daring him to make the first move. When it was evident that Kurama was being too cautious to do so, Ranmyaku charged him, brandishing his sword. However, Kurama managed to dodge the gleaming blade as Ranmyaku swung it around, not belittling Ranmyaku's swordsmanship skills, but their was still a lot left to be desired.

Kurama soon decided to take the offensive once his foe began breathing heavily, indicating that he was short of breathe and tired. With his Rose Whip, he snagged his opponent around the ankle with it and flung him into the chalkboard.

Ranmyaku slid down the wall and fell to the ground. Shakily, he pushed himself up using his arms and stood up. He wiped the blood of his lip and his sword trembled in his grip. A black energy began swirling around him violently like a sandstorm and a black puddle that started underneath him began growing steadily bigger, engulfing everything around them except Kira, the Kyonshi, Kurama and himself. The black puddle covered the floor and all the walls, blocking out the sunlight. It was like the room had been transformed into a pit of darkness.

Kira punched another Kyonshi as she said, "Uh-oh, Kurama. I think you made him angry."

Ranmyaku leapt towards Kurama with such ferocity that it looked like his once blue eyes were burning as bright as flames. "Prepare to die you bastard!" He yelled shrilly.

Kurama tried to evade, but the sword pierced right through his shoulder causing a shock wave of pain throughout his body as blood splattered from the wound onto Ranmyaku who was driving the sword deeper and deeper until he reached the hilt. Then he withdrew it in one swift motion, smirking devilishly at what he had just done.

"You're lucky you're so quick or else it would've been through your stomach." He snickered. The darkness in the room immediately vanished and Kurama fall to his knees with his hand covering the shoulder that had been stabbed, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

Kira pushed through the white corpses and ran to Kurama to help him. She knelt down next to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay?" Her hands trembled as she clutched the fabric of his shirt in her fingers.

Before he could answer, Ranmyaku snapped his fingers and all the Kyonshi disappeared.

"That was fun enough for today, but I was told just to stall you losers." He tilted his head to one side and put his hood back up. "See ya wimps later." With that, he too vanished in a cloud of dark smoke.

Kira rolled her eyes, "What a moron." She then returned her attention to Kurama and asked again, "You okay? That looks pretty bad…"

"I just…need to stop the bleeding then I'll be fine." He told her flatly.

She lowered her eyelids and ripped a sleeve off of her shirt. "Here," she leaned forward and gently moved his hand that was covering the wound so she could tie the cloth around it. "Until we get to Genkai's or one of our houses, this is your temporary bandage." She tied it extra tight just to make sure it wouldn't come off until they could replace it.

He forced a smile, "Thanks. But what about your uniform?"

She smacked the side of his head and yelled at him loudly. "How can you worry over something as dumb as a uniform when you could've gotten killed? I can always get a new one, dumb ass! What's wrong with you? Would you rather bleed to death or me have my uniform in one piece?"

Kurama chuckled flippantly at this, "I'm sorry, point taken." He couldn't help, but laugh at how stern she was being with him. It seemed incredibly out of character for her and it just made him laugh, but it was also proof that she did care about him…in a totally platonic way. The romance was going to have to wait until she was just a tad more mature or until she was less dense. Now, it seemed like something he could bare for just a little longer.

Kira sat down cross-legged. "It would've been helpful if certain people weren't being stupid and showed up to help us."

"You mean Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"Duh!" She pounded her fist on the floor. "Can't those idiots sense anything?"

…meanwhile…

"Hey Kuwabara! I bet I can beat you at a game of Asteroids!"

"You're on Urameshi! I'm gonna crush you this time!"

"Yeah, yeah. Like we haven't heard that a million times. You wanna play too, Hiei?"

"Hn."

…

Kira clenched her fists into balls, "Thos bastards are at the arcade playing video games!"

"How do you know?"

"Well, um…" she scratched her temple with her index finger, "I am kinda psychic."

"I knew that…"

"You forgot, didn't you?" She punched his arm (the uninjured one).

"No, I didn't." He stood up and she followed suit while pouting. Kurama glanced at her, "What?"

Kira glared at him, "Nothing."

To him it didn't look like nothing was bothering her, but it was probably best to leave it be.

The classroom door opened and a teacher came running in and shouted at the two of them. "What happened in here?"

Kira and Kurama looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes. This was going to take some explaining or a very creative and imaginative story to get them out of the trouble coming their way.

**XXXXXXX**

Note: So here's the deal with the fics I'm planning to put up, the Naruto one pretty much went down the drain and the FMA one (which I thought I had a good plot set out) is kinda iffy to me right now. The Furuba one however, I've already typed the first three chapters so that should be up soon. That fic is kinda angsty so be warned…

MOVING ON!

Next chapter: The Guardian of Time (Stage 2)

Rock on and Love and Peace,

DC-chan


	7. The Guardian of Time, Stage II

Dc-chan: Summer time is almost here and soon it will be time for vacation cheer!

MCT: NO RHYMING GOD DAMMIT!

Seraph: Rhyming burns my ears.

Dc-chan: Sorry…I'm just so happy! June 15th is the end of school! Because it's almost summer that means I can write more cuz all the teachers just assign you study homework due to upcoming finals. And I don't study (it's a mystery why I have a 3.8 GPA, especially since my school is a college prep school). I NEVER STUDY! So, yeah. Expect more chapters. My goal is to crank out one or two a week…hopefully.

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, but if I did Jin would have a MUCH bigger role. IRISH PRIDE! (Actually, I'm Scotch-Irish…)

**XXXXXXX**

Chapter 7 of Define 'Normal'

The Guardian of Time Stage 2

Kurama paced around his room as Kira watched him from the corner of her eyes. Occasionally, he would glance at the clock on the wall as the seconds ticked by slowly. Tick, tock, tick, tock. The sound had become almost unbearable.

Kira was sitting on the chair by the desk, quietly drumming her fingers. If this silence went on any longer she was going to go completely insane.

"They should've been here by now," she said dryly. By 'they' she meant Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei. Those three were supposed to meet them at Kurama's house so they could discuss the current situation.

Kurama finally stopped pacing and sat down on his bed while rubbing his temple. "I sure wish they would hurry up. What could be keeping them? I said three in the afternoon, not four thirty." He sighed in exasperation as she looked across the room at Kira who was staring back at him.

"They're probably playing video games or something…" she trailed off, making a mental note to kick both Yusuke's and Kuwabara's asses for not coming to help them when they were fighting Ranmyaku because they had been at the arcade. She stood up and stretched her arms over her head and cracked her knuckles with her arms in the air before lowering them to her sides. "This is so boring. I hate waiting."

"I'm sure they're not that irresponsible." The kitsune said in an effort to reassure himself that they were on their way and NOT playing video games.

"You don't know them like I do." Kira retorted shaking her head. "You didn't go to school with them for six months."

Kurama raised as eyebrow at her.

She put her hands up, "Fine, fine. I know I didn't go to school that much either, but they're guys. Guys are always negligent, no offence or anything."

"None taken." He spread his arms out and fell down on his bed with his legs dangling over the side. All of this waiting was making him so tired. He could be studying than doing this, but that would make Kira call him a 'nerd' again. Kurama refrained from telling Kira that she had overheard that mostly because it would embarrass her.

Kira put her hands behind her back and leaned against the wall. "I can't stand this! I'm so bored!" Her eyes scanned Kurama's room which was much, much more organized than hers or any other room she'd ever seen. It was just so clean and tidy. The textbooks perfectly stacked, papers organized, bed made and a vacuumed floor. It was then that she noticed the absence of a certain little fur ball. "Where's Neko?"

"Outside somewhere…" he replied, propping himself up on his elbow. "She's kinda become more of an outdoor cat now."

"Oh." Kira clicked her tongue. "Just wondering." A sinister idea then crossed her mind and she pumped her fists in the air suddenly feeling energized.

The kitsune was caught off guard by her sudden change in mood.

She casually walked over to his bookshelf, fully aware that his eyes were on her. _Geez, they're even in alphabetical order. _She traced her index finger along some of the book titles, none of which she was familiar with, before taking one off the shelf. "You know Kurama," she smiled while opening the book, "I don't think I've ever meet someone with such a clean room."

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment?"

She nodded absentmindedly, "If you want it to be." She closed the book and stared at his door, her eyes glazing over and becoming misty. "Someone's coming…"

He inclined his head towards her, but said nothing.

Kira opened the door and Yusuke and Kuwabara came tumbling in with Hiei close behind.

"Dammit, Kamiyama!" Kuwabara pouted while sitting up cross-legged about pushing Yusuke off of him. "We wanted to scare you guys."

She rolled her eyes, "How lame." She then hit his head with the book repeatedly while Yusuke made his way over to Kurama in such a cautious way as to avoid a beating himself.

"How'd you get in?" Kurama asked, very confused.

Yusuke reached his hand in his pocket and pulled out a key on a Badtz-maru key chain. "Kira let us borrow the key she has to your house." He pulled out Kurama's chair from the desk and sat on after placing the keys on the desk. Yusuke leaned back on the chair and draped one of his arms over the back of it. "So…I suppose this meeting is important, right?"

"Stupid idiot!" Kira yelled, still hitting Kuwabara over the head with the book. "I'm a psychic! You can't pull anything on me! Dork!"

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged amused looks while Hiei stood in the corner of the room, a smirk pulling on his lips as well.

"C'mon, Kuwabara!" Yusuke said roaring with laughter and holding his stomach. "Fight back!"

Kuwabara glowered at him as he held one of his arms up to block the teenage girl's vicious assault. "She's a girl! I don't fight girls! It's against my code!"

Yusuke shrugged it off and glanced over to the kitsune. "So, what's this little meeting about? Something happen?"

Kurama was about to answer, but Kira then turned her attention to Yusuke with her brown eyes flashing.

"Damn straight something happened!" She chucked the book at him and he ducked just in time for it to miss him and hit the wall behind him. "Kurama and I got our asses totally kicked, that's what happened!" She then mumbled some curse words under her breath before sitting down on the floor next to the semiconscious Kuwabara.

Yusuke's eyes widened. "By who?"

"Some jerk off named Ranmyaku." Kira said, gritting her teeth.

Yusuke arched an eyebrow. "Is that someone we know?" Mentally, he ran through the names of every bad guy he ever fought, but couldn't remember anyone by that specific name.

"Of course we don't know him!" Kira snapped.

"From the fight, it appeared he was just analyzing our abilities." Kurama said thoughtfully. "He probably intends to kill us later."

Kira scowled, "Why though? Why does he want to kill us? We don't even know him!"

Kurama thought about this for a second. _It is strange that someone would attack us, especially in a public place where they could be seen. _He stole a glance at Kira who was furrowing her brows. She was most likely upset because that Ranmyaku had just been toying with them and that they couldn't compete with him in their present condition.

"Perhaps it would be best to consult Koenma on this matter." Hiei stated icily. "Or maybe someone with more adequate intelligence than everyone in this room."

"You do realize that you're insulting your own intelligence too, ne?" Kira scoffed at him.

"He's right though," Kurama said in agreement. "Maybe Koenma could make a connection to this Ranmyaku character. Yusuke, can you contact Botan and tell her to ask Koenma about Ranmyaku?"

"Yeah, I suppose, but why don't we go and ask Koenma ourselves?" Yusuke asked.

"Ranmyaku is going to be hard to beat and I've a feeling he's working in a group," Kurama explained slowly. "In order to stand a chance we're going to need to train some more."

Kira froze and the color drained from her face. "No, you don't mean…ANYTHING BUT THAT!" She squealed in a high pitch voice then began clinging to Kurama's desk for dear life. "I'm not going back to be trained by Obaa-san!"

"Well, at least you get it east because you're her granddaughter." Yusuke shot back. The memories of his training with Genkai still frightened him to this day.

"That's not true at all!" She shot back. "She's even harder on me because I am her granddaughter!"

Kuwabara stirred from unconsciousness and sat up with many visible bruises on his head. "Did I miss anything?"

Kira hung her head, "We're doomed…doomed…doomed."

Kurama ignored her pessimism, "We'll meet at Genkai's in two weeks, is that agreeable?"

"Why not next Saturday?" Kuwabara asked.

"Well, um…" Kurama tried to think of a quick excuse. Next Saturday was the day of Kira's mother's engagement party which Kira had no clue about so he couldn't very well say it in front of her. He didn't want to be the one to break the ice to her. "Because I promised to help my stepfather at his office that day."

Kira nodded, "Okay, sounds good to me. Any objections?"

There were none. The next half-hour was spent with Kira chasing Yusuke around playfully with Kuwabara egging her on since the three of them hadn't hung out together in what felt like ages to them, meanwhile Hiei slipped out preferring not to be involved with the teenagers idiocy.

Just before Yusuke and Kuwabara left, Kira was staying at Kurama's house for dinner because her mother wasn't home (she was on a date so she didn't want Kira to be home alone, but Kira was entirely unaware of that) Kurama talked briefly to them on the doorstep outside.

"Listen, just in case either of you run into Ranmyaku you need to know his weakness." Kurama said sternly. "When he uses his Sword of Bones, it leaves one of his arms incapacitated."

"Meaning?" Kuwabara stared blankly at him.

"That that arm can't perform any attacks." Yusuke said.

"Exactly." Kurama confirmed. "I don't quite know how to exploit it though, but it's something to watch out for." With that bit of information shared Yusuke and Kuwabara left and Kurama returned to inside the house, but Kira was nowhere in sight. "Kira?" He walked into the living room, it was dead silent. Just as he turned around she sprang on him and pinned him to the ground.

"Gotcha!" She beamed triumphantly with her hands holding his shoulders down roughly.

"Haha, very funny." He chided her. "Can you please get off now?"

"I can…" she said innocently. "But I don't really feel like it."

"Oh, really?" In a flash of movement he flipped her over so she was on her back and he was the one pinning her to the ground. Her eyes were wide from surprise and she was clearly embarrassed at being overpowered so easily. He sighed heavily. "Why do you enjoy tackling me so much, anyway?"

She puffed out her cheeks childishly, "Because you're so serious most of the time."

"I am?" He pretended to be surprised, but he couldn't stop grinning. "Well maybe this will change your opinion…" He started tickling her on her forearms, but made sure to hold her down so she couldn't get away.

"S-s-stop!" She said in-between gasps of breath from laughing so hard. Kira tried to pull away although she was giggling too hard which prevented her from doing so. "C'mon…stop!"

"You still think I'm too serious?" Kurama asked as she futilely tried to get away.

She squirmed and wriggled, she hated being so ticklish. "Seriously…haha….stop it…" She freed her arms and put them on his chest to push him away. When she tried sitting up she stopped with her back only a few inches from the ground, her face was just inches from his.

He stopped tickling her and blushed a deep shade of pink. His heart began beating erratically as it just registered in his head that her face was only a few inches away from his own. Without thinking, he leaned in towards her cautiously, aware that she was watching him carefully. He felt her shaky hands clutch his shirt tightly and he felt her warm breath against his lips. Kurama was only mere moments away from kissing her when at the last split second she ducked her head and he ended up kissing her awkwardly on her forehead.

He gulped when he withdrew and began apologizing immediately. "I'm sorry…"

She let go of his shirt, her eyes were hidden under her red bangs in an effort to hide how she was feeling. Kira didn't know what to say, she thought when Yusuke had told her that Kurama had liked her so many months ago that he hadn't been serious about it, but it now seemed to be the truth. Why couldn't have seen it earlier?

"I didn't mean too…" He started, trying to organize his thoughts and deal with her rejection at the same time. "I'm…it just…"

Kira bit her bottom lip and looked up at him, "You don't have to apologize."

Just then, as if the Fates truly did have it in for them, the front door opened and Kurama's family came in.

"Shuichi, I'm back from the grocery store!" Shiori announced with her husband and stepson behind her.

"ACK!" Shuichi screamed loudly as he entered the living room to find his stepbrother with Kira. "Okaa-san, they're at it again!"

Kira and Kurama looked at him with deadpan expressions before gradually turning to face each other and laughing at how freaked out the young teenage boy was.

…

Yusuke walked along the dimly lit street alone. He had just said goodbye to Kuwabara and they had parted ways since they lived in different directions. He strolled along with his hands in his pocket while musing how oblivious Kira was to Kurama's feelings. It wasn't that long ago that he was in the same boat, he didn't really understand the depths of Keiko's feelings for himself until just a few months ago. It was strange to think of Keiko as his girlfriend since he had known her for so long, but he really wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

As he was lost in his train of thought, he barely noticed that each streetlight that he walked past flicker out, leaving utter darkness behind him.

Yusuke paused to see that a few feet in front of him a fallen form lay there. He edged closer hesitantly until he recognized the bundle of brown hair and blue school uniform.

"Keiko!" He rushed forward and turned her onto her back and put his hand under her head. Yusuke shook her gently. "Keiko! Wake up!"

She didn't move. He put grabbed her wrist and sighed in relief as he felt a pulse, at least she was alive.

His eyes scanned his surroundings frantically and it was then that he noticed that all the streetlights were out except for the one directly above him and Keiko. He saw something move in the corner of his eyes and whirled around.

Clenching his fists he yelled into the night, "Come out here you bastard!"

A leather boot stepped out into the light followed by a cloaked figure. "You needn't be so angry, she's merely asleep." He lowered his hood and folded his arms across his chest. "Greetings, I'm the infamous Ranmyaku."

Yusuke stood up and looked his foe up and down. There was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary with him, not even any visible demon traits. Yusuke knew better than to judge his opponent by appearances by now though. _So this is the guy that had Kurama and Kira so freaked out, huh?_ He rolled up his sleeves. "You're going to pay for what you did to Keiko!"

"Is that a fact?" Ranmyaku chuckled while rubbing his hands together. He eyed Yusuke wearily. "Well, I'm not one to disappoint. If it's a fight you want than a fight is what you'll get." He grabbed his left arm and immediately it was surrounded in a dark aura. "Sword of Bones!" He cried pulling out the white blade which was soaked in crimson.

Yusuke hide his smirk. _Moron, I know your weakness with that weapon. Good thing Kurama told me. _

Ranmyaku charged at Yusuke and swung the blade which glinted in the moonlight. Yusuke dodged and jumped to the side so he was a few feet away from Ranmyaku.

_Okay, now think. You know his weakness, but you've got to exploit it somehow._ _Think, Yusuke, think! _

He ducked as Ranmyaku came at him with the sword once more, but this time it cut his right cheek slightly so a little blood dripped out and ran down his face. Yusuke wiped it away and ducked again as Ranmyaku attempted a high kick, but this time Yusuke came up from under him and punched him square in the jaw, sending him flying backwards.

Yusuke took Ranmyaku's down time as a means to move Keiko's limp body to safety on the sidelines where she couldn't accidentally get hurt.

"You put up quite a good fight," Ranmyaku panted, recovering from the blow.

Yusuke glared daggers at him. He wanted nothing more than to ring his neck.

Ranmyaku held up his sword and licked the blade slyly. "You look really angry now." He lowered his blade then charged him so fast that Yusuke had barely time to react, but he managed to maneuver out of the way.

Instinctively, Yusuke grabbed Ranmyaku's limp left arm and with his other hand aimed his spirit gun right in-between Ranmyaku's shoulder blade and elbow.

"REI GUN!"

A blue blast of light shot forth and ripped through Ranmyaku's arm and a sickening tearing sound was heard as blood waterfalled from the wound. The arm fall lifelessly to the ground covered in crimson blood.

Ranmyaku dropped his sword and dropped to his knees in agony. "My arm! You'll pay for this you…you…" He put his other hand over it and hunched over, unable to finish his sentence, and began shrieking in pain.

Yusuke stood over him and blew on his index finger like it was a smoking gun. "That's what poor bastards like you get. Let that be a lesson to you, don't ever piss me off!"

Ranmyaku gathered his Sword of Bones and amputated left arm with his uninjured right arm, breathing heavily from the blood loss. He directed his cold blue eyes up at the Reikai Tantei and said in a passionless voice, "Mark my words. I'll make you pay for this." A black cloud of wispy smoked engulfed him and when it cleared, he was gone.

Blood stained the street, but Yusuke didn't care. His first thoughts after the fight were of Keiko. He dashed over to her to see she was waking up.

She cracked her brown eyes open, "Yu-Yusuke?"

Yusuke smiled, "Yeah?"

She pushed herself up with her hands with Yusuke supporting her with one of his hands on her back. "What happened here?" Keiko looked at all the blood everywhere then looked curiously at Yusuke.

"Do you remember anything before you fell asleep?" Yusuke inquired.

Keiko shook her head, "Not really…the last thing I remember was going to sleep in my room. Why?"

"So the name Ranmyaku doesn't ring a bell?"

"No."

"Okay then," he held her arm and helped her up. "I'll walk you back home, Keiko."

She rubbed her eyes, "Thank you, Yusuke."

"No problem."

…

"Quit being a baby, Ranmyaku!" The cloaked female, Atsureki, scolded bitterly. "I'll do my best to fix the mess you've gotten yourself in."

Ranmyaku was sitting on a cold surgery table in a dimly lit room with only the bones of his left arm, no skin covering them, visible. The rest of his body was hidden under his own black cloak.

"It hurts! It hurts!" He whined childishly as Atsureki applied a liquid solution to the bones.

"This will help your skin grow back, but it will take about a month. Until then, be prepared for some painful nights." She dabbed some more of the translucent liquid on the bones with a washcloth.

"It stings!" He groaned loudly. "Why does it sting so much?"

"Accelerated cell growth," Atsureki mumbled in reply. "Now shut up and take it like a man!" She threw the washcloth into a corner of the room furiously. _The others better get back soon before Ranmyaku drives my insane._

**XXXXXXX**

Dc-chan: I'm so proud of myself. Today I super glued a quarter to the ground just for some after school amusement and so many people tried to pick it up. IT WAS GOD DAMN HILARIOUS! I highly recommend it if you're bored and have superglue and a quarter laying around.

NEXT CHAPTER: Interlude (a break between The Guardian of Time arch, but the chapter after that will be Stage 3)

Thanks for all the great reviews. Incessant ember, thank you for reminding me to go back and look through my writing. I've been getting kinda lazy, but one day I shall go back to Rock My World and edit it. Someday…

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	8. Interlude

Dc-chan: X-Men III! WHOOT! I saw it on last Friday (opening day) with four of my friends, we cut our last class of school to see it and walked all the way down to the theatre. I spent the rest of my Memorial Day weekend watching X-Men 1 and 2 on FX and wondering what happened to that X-Men: Evolution show that used to be on. Kurt was awesome! Man, I miss that show. Good times, good times.

MCT: …loser.

Seraph: X-geek…

Best line from the movie: "Do you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" -Juggernaut, who kicks ass, to Kitty, who's short like me and just as totally awesome. I laughed so hard that lemonade came out of my nose.

Disclaimer: Someday, when I take over the world, maybe just maybe I will own it, but until that day comes I shake my fist and say, "Someday, someday…" So, yeah. I don't own YYH…yet.

**XXXXXXX**

Chapter 8 of Define 'Normal'

Interlude

"So, how are the wedding plans going?" Shiori asked her friend while sipping at her tea in the living room. She had invited Rika over since both Kira and Kurama were out and she really wanted to catch up on what was going on in the Kamiyama household and ascertain new information regarding the upcoming wedding.

"Good." Rika replied. She didn't really want to delve too far into the details of it since nothing was finalized yet or set in stone.

Shiori gave her a skeptical look. "You don't sound too enthusiastic." She arched an eyebrow at her friend before going on to say, "Do you at least have an idea on where you're going to have your wedding?"

Rika nodded, "Vaguely. I was thinking about having it back in the US, but I'm not sure."

"Why not? Sounds like a good idea to me."

"Well," Rika dropped her voice to a whisper, "Kira's not too fond of plane travel. I think she might be scared of heights."

Shiori giggled at this. "I doubt she is, but really now, why not? I think it would be lovely to have it in Hawaii or California."

She thought about this for a minute. It would be nice to have the wedding in California or Hawaii, but it might be too much of a hassle. She was still deciding on having a big or a small wedding too. There were too many decisions to make and keeping the engagement party a secret from Kira was already tiring enough.

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" Rika asked suddenly. "I mean, getting married. I don't know how Kira is going to react to this and I don't know what she's going to think of Yutaka."

"Oh, so that's his name." Shiori teased while grinning, but abruptly stopped. "Wait you don't mean…Harada Yutaka, do you?"

"Yep, that's him."

"Oh my, Rika. Not him of all people. When you told me you had fallen in love and were going to get married I imagined someone much more demure. I didn't know you liked guys like that at all."

"Not at first," Rika admitted while blushing a bit, "but he kind of grows on you."

Shiori groaned, "I wonder what Kira will think of him…"

"Now, now. Don't jinx it." Rika muttered as she couldn't help being a little annoyed at her friend. True, there was no telling how her daughter would react, but it was for the best. "I'm she'll like him just fine."

"Really? It sounds like wishful thinking to me."

Rika pouted, "Don't worry, I'm sure this will work out. Besides, Yutaka has changed some since college. He's not as rowdy as you remember him. He's so professional, I hardly recognized him when I started working at the same hospital as him."

"Well, if you say he's changed over a new leaf then I guess I believe you." Shiori still felt doubtful, but decided to not press the matter anymore. If Rika said he was a changed man then so be it. The Harada Yutaka she remembered was a total frat boy who always skipped classes and never studied. She could hardly believe that someone like him had made it into medical school and was now one of the leading pediatricians in Japan.

"Quit looking so worried, Shiori." Rika berated.

"Does he have any children?" Shiori asked out of curiosity.

Rika's face paled as if she'd just seen a ghost. She put down her cup of tea and saucer before slapping her forehead. "I forgot, he has identical twin sons." How could she have forgotten that? This wasn't going to make Kira happy at all.

"How old?"

"Twelve…I think."

"Kira's going to love them." Shiori said in a pleasant yet sarcastic tone.

…

Yusuke crouched next to the wall in the dark room which was tinted in red shadows due to the scattered red lights hanging overhead. He darted from his current position to hide behind a stack of coils that almost reached to the ceiling. He waited, the sound of his own heartbeat echoing in his ears. He heard a footstep coming from the rear and whirled around, but no one was there. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. Slowly, Yusuke walked backwards around the stack of coil, but stopped when he bumped into something or someone…

Quickly, he took his laser gun out of its holster and turned, ready to shot, but his reaction was too slow and he got hit instead. The heavy laser tag vest he wore vibrated and started flashing bright red for a few seconds before stopping.

"Got you, Urameshi!" Kuwabara guffawed loudly with his laser tag gun in one hand.

"You think that's funny?" Yusuke snorted as he then proceeded to shoot shot after shot at his vest causing it too to vibrate and flash.

"Stop it you two!" Kira bellowed while walking over with her gun resting on her shoulder idly and a hand on her hip. "In case you two idiots forgot…WE'RE ON THE SAME TEAM DUMMIES!" She hit them both on the head with her plastic laser gun.

Kuwabara and Yusuke both exchanged ashamed looks while rubbing their sore heads, "Oh yeah…"

"Morons." She rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Yusuke said defensively, "you choose us for your team, Captain. If you think we're such morons then why didn't you pick Kurama or Hiei for your team, huh?"

Kira gave him a cold death glare, but said nothing. It wasn't any of his business that the reason she didn't want to be on the same team as Kurama was because of the whole awkward forehead kiss situation two nights ago. Sure, after his stepbrother had walked in they had laughed, but afterwards was a totally different story. She couldn't help, but feel weird around Kurama now. Other than that, the reason she choose Kuwabara and Yusuke? Simple, they were fun to boss around.

"Okay," Kira said, "change of subject time. Have either of you seen either of those guys around? The only reason I found you two was because you were being so frigging loud."

Kuwabara shook his head solemnly, "Nope. I don't think I've seen them since we started."

"Me too," Yusuke agreed. "Some game of laser tag…"

"Shut it." Kira snapped, not wanting to be reminded that this was her idea. "Now, we need a strategy. There's three of us so one of use needs to guard the base." She pointed with her gun to the right were three walls were jutting out to make a small house with a door less opening, from where they were standing they could see the flashing column of light that hung down from the ceiling that if the other team got into their base and shot that they would win and Kira's team would lose.

"Nose goes!" Yusuke chimed.

Instantly Kira and Yusuke put their index fingers on their noses which meant Kuwabara was left to guard the base.

"Have fun!" Yusuke sniggered as he watched the sulking Kuwabara stomp over to the base.

Once Kuwabara was settled hiding in the shadows in the base, out of view, Kira and Yusuke took off in different directions. Neither of them had played laser tag in this particular arena before so neither knew where exactly to go.

Coils and random walls appeared everywhere, making the arena into a dark labyrinth. In the middle of the ceiling though, a huge scoreboard hung down showing the current scores of the red and green team which was still at zero. The countdown clock was a little under ten minutes now so time was of the essence.

Yusuke, the most skilled of the group at this game, kept low and close to the walls with his laser tag gun at the ready. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he silently inched along.

Kira, was on the other side of the arena, walking around stupidly like nothing was going to happen. _Maybe I should've have invited more people. Playing laser tag with only five people is so god damn lame. I thought this was going to be hella fun_.

She glanced at her surroundings occasionally as she searched for the green team's base.

Just under eight minutes now…

The green base was in Yusuke's sight now after carefully navigating through the maze he finally found it. He could see the column blinking green lights at him, almost as if daring him to come closer. He ducked down behind a low wall and carefully peered over it. Kurama and Hiei weren't in sight and he couldn't sense their presence either. The thought that both of them had ditched the game had crossed his mind, but he knew them better than that. Hiei may be a short, cynical demon, but he was also competitive and he sure as hell would never want to lose to Kira and then, obviously, Kurama was still around somewhere because of Kira.

After a moment he edged closer and looked over his shoulder.

No one there.

He grinned toothily and overconfidence engulfed him. This was too easy, besides getting lost in the arena, this was like taking candy from a baby.

"Where do you think you're going?" An eerily familiar voice said behind him causing him to slowly turn his head to see the diminutive fire apparition, Hiei, standing there with his laser tag gun pointed menacingly at Yusuke.

_Where the hell did he come from? _Yusuke sweatdropped, "Oh shi-"

Hiei fired his laser gun six times, hitting Yusuke's vest and depleting him of his points. The small screen on the back of Yusuke's gun flashed the word 'recharge' over and over.

Hiei laughed as Yusuke headed back to his base to find his team's recharge point, until he recharged he couldn't fire any shots at the green team's base.

_Stupid Hiei! _He yelled in his head before cursing the fire demon out under his breath.

"Somebody got you?" Kuwabara asked, hiding his snicker, as Yusuke returned to their base with his head lowered.

"Shut up carrot top." Yusuke shot back.

Kuwabara shrugged, "We've only got about three minutes left. Have you seen Kamiyama anywhere?"

Yusuke shook his head, "No. She went in a different direction than I did. She's probably hopelessly lost." At the thought he smirked malevolently. "Hey Kuwabara, since this game's a total bust, I have an even better idea…"

Kuwabara leaned in, "I'm listening."

(meanwhile…)

"I'M LOST!" Kira cried out, throwing her laser gun against a wall in frustration. _Where the hell is the other team's base? I've been looking around for so long!_ She put her hands on the side of her head and was about to scream, but quickly covered her own mouth in fear of being discovered by either Hiei or Kurama.

She began pacing with her arms behind her back. This game of laser tag was supposed to be fun, but it seemed more like torture now. If she couldn't even navigate through the stupid arena then how the hell was she going to get out when the time was up? She could just imagine herself being trapped in there forever.

She was too distracted by her overly thespian worrying to notice Kurama sneaking up on her.

He quietly took his gun out of the holster on his vest, still debating in his head whether or not he should do what he was going to do. She was distracted anyway, so how could he resist?

He aimed his gun expertly because she was so clearly distracted, she didn't even notice that he was five feet away from her.

It wasn't till he fired his shots and her vest began vibrating that she saw him.

"Kurama!" She whined childishly while searching frantically on the floor for her laser gun, but she couldn't find it. She then put her hands on his shoulders are shook him angrily. "What's wrong with you? Shooting someone while they're clearly utterly lost in this stupid place. I thought you were nicer than that!" Kira scolded.

A smile tugged at his lips, "Sorry. Couldn't resist."

She narrowed her eyes at him and shook him again. "That's so incredibly mean!" She clutched the fabric of his shirt in her trembling fists and fought the urge to kick him in the shin. "Taking advantage of a helpless girl, you're so evil!"

"You're just upset because I got you. This has nothing to do with you being lost." He said reasonably. "So don't you dare go into the waterworks."

Kira stuck her tongue out at Kurama. So much for the pity factor, he knew her too well. She straightened herself up to retain what little dignity she still possessed. "I wasn't really going to cry and FYI, I wasn't really lost either."

"Oh, really?" He arched an eyebrow as she turned away from him. He bumped her lightly on her head. "So were you pretending to be lost then?"

"Precisely!"

He glanced down at her with a 'you're a horrible liar' look on his face.

She caved. "Fine, fine! I was lost! So sue me for denying it!"

Kurama chuckled, "That aside now, let's get out of here. I believe our time limit is almost expired."

"Wait!" Kira looked around frantically. "I can't find my laser gun!" She walked over to the wall where she had thrown it but it wasn't there. Where could it have possibly gone? It was there when she had thrown it…

She wandered over to where a few low stacks of coil were lined next to each other. She was about to look over the edge of the coils when Yusuke and Kuwabara jumped out from behind them at her.

"BOO!"

Kira was so surprised she stumbled backwards and fell on her butt. Her shock quickly changed to rage as she stood up and flailed her arms around furiously. "YOU TWO ASSHOLES ARE DEAD MEAT!" She hurdled over the coils and chased after them, leaving Kurama in the dust.

Kurama rubbed the back of his neck while smiling as Hiei emerged and stood next to the fox.

"Teenagers." Hiei rolled his awesome crimson eyes.

"It seems like they're having fun. I saw you got Yusuke." Kurama noted.

Hiei smirked. "I would have preferred getting that overgrown ogre." Meaning he would have much rather gotten Kuwabara because he despised him so much. Heck, he'd rather have gotten Kira as well. "They're all completely oblivious of what's to come. I can't believe you agreed to do this especially when she doesn't return or even understand your affections for her."

Kurama sighed, "Can we please not discuss that topic?"

They heard the distant shouts of Kira giving Kuwabara a noogie and Yusuke laughing in amusement at his two friends.

Hiei crinkled his nose and mumbled something about immaturity and stupidity. To Hiei and possibly a lot of other cynical people, those two things seemed to go hand in hand.

**XXXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Where Kira's laser tag gun went is a mystery. It went POOF!

Seraph: Idiot.

MCT: Moron.

Dc-chan: …

NEXT CHAPTER: The Guardian of Time, Stage3

The reason I had this Interlude chapter was because I figured I needed to give the Reikai Tantei a short break before things explode and there's more fighting. Once again, I have failed at another stupid attempt at trying to be funny in this chapter.

(there are going to be about 3-4 more chapters in TGOT arc before this fic gets into the actual story. I thought of a really good idea recently which was better than my first, but I'm not revealing anything yet. You shall see soon what my demented brain has concocted.)

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	9. The Guardian of Time, Stage III

Dc-chan: I wasn't allowed on the internet all week (June 11th-16th) because it was finals week at my school, but now it's summer! Which means lots more chapters of fics to put up and maybe some new ones…hehe. (Sorry this update is three weeks late I've been really lazy lately and I've been on a video game binge, so sorry.)

MCT: Just work on finishing this one first.

Seraph: Yeah, procrastinator. How many months have you been working on this story?

Dc-chan: …shut up!

Disclaimer: Is the sky orange? No? Then I still don't own it.

**XXXXXXX**

Chapter 9 of Define 'Normal'

The Guardian of Time, Stage III

Genkai sat calmly on a pillow with her eyes closed outside on the wooden walkway of her temple while sipping her tea. All was right in the world as long as the teenagers weren't around to annoy the hell out of her. The trees in the forest were luscious and green. The azure sky seemed endless. The melody of chirping birds could be heard drifting on the gentle breeze. The sun shone brightly making the day warm and relaxing. It couldn't have been a more peaceful delightful day for the old woman, but fate has a way with messing with people.

She sighed heavily when she heard the sound of footsteps against the stone steps that lead up to her temple. Why would anyone bothering visiting her and ruin such a nice, quiet day? She opened her eyes and looked up to see who it could be. She gasped, her eyes widening like saucers.

There at the top of the stairs stood a small child with silver hair glinting in the sun and narrowed blue eyes. His clothes were tattered and he was covered in bruises and scratches. He was panting and when he saw her his dead eyes lit up. "Are you Genkai?" He asked, his voice surprising high pitch.

She nodded, "Yes." She studied him for a moment. He was a demon, she was sure of it. There was no mistaking his pointed ears and odd color hair were demonic characteristics. "What would someone like you want here?" Her raspy voice said tensely.

He stood up straight, "I don't have much time. They'll find me soon." He walked towards her slowly. "My name is Sega, I'm the Guardian of Time. I was kidnapped a few weeks ago and my captors are tampering with the past through me." He inhaled heavily, "I came here to tell you that unless you warn the others, this reality will cease to exist. A new reality will be created in its place so it will be easier for my captors to achieve their goals. You see, they seek to break the bond…" He paused, a sudden gust of wind had sent chills down his back. Sega backed away, "He's here. He's found me."

Genkai tilted her head to one side. "Who's found you?" She demanded in her raspy voice.

Sega shook his head forlornly at her. "I must leave now. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you more." He pivoted on his heel and quickly ran back down the steps. His feet lightly skittering on the stone as if he was barely touching the ground beneath him.

Genkai got up and went after him, but when she reached the top of the stairs he was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes scanned the top of the forest as a flock of birds abruptly took flight, as if something had frightened them abruptly.

She lowered her eyelids, "A new reality? Breaking the bond? What did he mean?" Maybe she was getting too old for this. Genkai folded her arms across her chest and stared down the steps. It was as if the boy had just simply vanished into thin air. She couldn't even sense him, but that's what bothered her. Even when he was standing in front of her, she hadn't sensed any life force coming from him. It was as if he didn't exist at all. Maybe he wasn't a demon like she had thought, looks, after all, could be deceiving.

She cupped her chin in her hand and exhaled deeply. Could she truly trust to heed Sega's warning? Genkai walked back inside her temple, it was empty. It seemed unusually quiet now. Normally, she preferred it this way, but lately it made her feel lonely when her granddaughter and her stupid apprentice weren't here bugging her.

Striding down a hallway she sighed several times before concluding she needed to contact Koenma about the young boy who had just visited her temple.

She didn't understand what he meant about making 'a new reality' or 'breaking the bonds' meant. But it was a warning she couldn't take without due consideration.

…

"You fought Ranmyaku? And won?" Kira said in awe with her jaw dropped.

Yusuke nodded and shrugged, "Yeah. Is there a problem with that? You sound surprised."

"Well, yeah! Duh!" She replied in disbelief. "Kurama and I didn't win against him. When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The two teenagers were walking down the street. It was late in the afternoon with the sun just starting to set. Kira and Yusuke were coming back from the arcade and were too busy talking about recent events to even notice how beautiful the sky was at the moment, a mixture of light purple and magenta streaked with orange. The weather was not too warm, nor was it too cold, but it didn't stop the two of them from wearing jeans and sweatshirts.

Yusuke scratched the back of his head. "I thought for sure I did. Must have slipped my mind, but I did tell Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei about it. They weren't as surprised as you are though. Kurama said he kinda expected something like this to happen."

Kira crinkled her nose. "Oh, of course you would tell them. I mean, nobody ever tells me anything important. I know how you guys love to keep me in the dark about certain…things." She said in a dry voice. She ran a hand through her hair in annoyance and continued glowering at him.

Yusuke protested against this accusation. "That was Koenma's decision to not tell you, not ours. I would've told you, but that stupid toddler was being a total-"

"Asshole." Kira cut him off with her arms folded across her chest. "But Kurama was all for it though, wasn't he?"

"He thought it was for the best too." Yusuke explained exasperatedly. "I sort of think it was for the best too now, you got so mad over stuff people don't tell you nowadays. Sometimes it's better that you don't know things."

She glared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, if that Takuto kid hadn't told you about Kokuei still being alive somewhere you probably wouldn't be snapping at me like this." Yusuke glanced at her and noticed her irritated expression. He raised his hands up in defense. "See, you get worked up too easily." That was to say the least.

Kira pouted at him. "No, I don't." She felt like he was turning their conversation into a personal attack now. Why did everyone pick on her?

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "See, you're about to throw a tantrum aren't you?"

She stopped walking. This was the last straw she was going to take form him. Why was everyone so quick to point out how fast she got angry? Maybe if they had just came clean about everything then she wouldn't act this way. She was past the point of frustration. Did Yusuke think he was protecting her too by not telling her about Kokuei? What was so bad about Kokuei anyway? She then remembered that he had tried to kill her, but he had also apologized and saved her life.

Yusuke looked over his shoulder at her. Maybe he was being insensitive about the subject, but it was really getting on his nerves how easily Kira would get pissed over such stupid things. He put his hands in his pockets and sighed. "It's really not that big of a deal, you know. You shouldn't get so worked up."

She jabbed her index finger into his chest. "Listen you, it might seem like nothing to you, but it means something to me when my supposed friends keep secrets from me. You just don't understand how I feel at all."

"No one does." Yusuke said waving his arms in vexation. "You don't tell anyone how you feel! You just react! How can anyone get what you're thinking or feeling if you don't tell anyone?"

"Well, I'm telling you how I feel right now, aren't I?" Kira snapped, her nostrils flaring at him.

"Not really. You just look like you're about to kill me, but I guess that's a way of expressing your feelings without words." He paused when she gave him a cold glare before continuing. "Look, I kinda know how you feel. So let me tell you that being angry at everything is not the best way to live. You've got to start focusing on what doesn't piss you off because if you keep getting mad at us about this we're going to keep going in circles over the dumb topic."

Kira raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"That sounded really corny, didn't it?" Yusuke added, trying to lighten the mood between them even though he had a feeling that that effort was a little bit too late. He had already pushed her past her comfort zone with this topic. He closed his eyes tightly waiting for her to smack him.

"Yeah, it did." Kira scoffed as she brushed past him.

The nerve they all had! Keeping her in the dark for so long like they had! She clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white as she turned a street corner. Her anger just kept rising and rising. Sure, she had said she'd forgiven Kurama for it and asked for his honesty which he promised, but still she couldn't really trust him to keep that promise. If Koenma told Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan and everyone else to keep their mouths' shut and not tell her they would.

She was so concentrated on her own thoughts that she wasn't even aware that her telekinesis was lifting up cars parked on the street, uprooting plants as she walked briskly by and lifting some poor pedestrians into the air who were clinging to lampposts to prevent themselves from going up any higher.

_They don't understand. They never will. Idiots. They think by not telling me they're protecting me. But that's wrong. Aren't they my friends? Maybe they think I can't handle it, but who are they to decide that? I'm perfectly capable of handling myself. It's like having my friends try to 'parent' me or something. Don't they understand how annoying it is? I just want to know what the hell is going on half the fricking time, but they make everything so secretive when it involves Kokuei._

She slowly came to a stop in front of Kurama's house. She looked at it for a few seconds and wondered maybe if she should talk to him. He would be able to calm her down a little.

_But he's also a part of the problem._ A nasty little voice in the back of her mind hissed. _He went right along with what that idiotic Koenma told him to do. He's the one that angers you the most when it comes to this problem._

Kira decided to continue walking, bothering him wasn't going to help. He would just feed her the same line everyone else did again. But when Kurama said he was sorry she really had wanted to believe it. There was always something sincere about the way he talked to her. She couldn't believe him though. If Koenma got wind of Kokuei's whereabouts she was sure he would tell the others to not tell her and she was sure they wouldn't tell her even if she asked.

The sky was getting darker above her as the sun was nearly set by now. The streetlights soon flickered on and the streets were lined by lit windows in houses.

A cold gust of wind blew by which made her freeze in her tracks suddenly. She felt a looming presence behind her and turned around to see a hooded figure standing about twenty feet away from her.

"Ranmyaku?" She presumed getting into her fighting stance by spreading her feet apart and raising her fists.

The figure shook it's head. "Silly girl." It said in a dark, low voice. Kira had barely blinked when in a flash the figure was now right in front of her. It grabbed her wrist gruffly. "Now be a good girl and come with me."

Kira tried to pull away. "Over my dead body!"

His grip was too strong and he pulled her forward as he summoned a swirling black cloud portal with his other hand. "That can be arranged if you're not careful, Kokoro."

"It's Kira, viper brain!" She retorted crossly. Was he threatening her?

"Does it look like I care what your name is?" With those words he pulled her into the dark portal..

…

"Shuichi!" Shiori called from the kitchen with the phone in her hand. She had been busy washing the dishes when the telephone had rung. "Telephone!"

Kurama came down the stairs and yawned. It was almost 11:30 at night, who called at this hour? His first thought was Kira because he hadn't seen her all day. He thought for sure he would've seen her at school, but maybe she was avoiding him for some reason. Did she finally figure out his feelings for her? His face paled as he took the phone from his mother. "Hello?" He said into the receiver.

"Oh, hello Kur-I mean Shuichi." It was Rika, Kira's mother. "Sorry if this is a bit late."

"It's alright." He replied sitting down at the table and rubbing his eyes.

"I was wondering if you've seen Kira today?" she asked in a worried voice.

Kurama's eyes shot open. "What?"

"She didn't come home after going to the arcade with Yusuke. I thought maybe you would know where she was." Rika's tone was getting more concerned by the second.

"She didn't come home?" Kurama said.

"No…I'm starting to think something might have happened to her." Rika sniffed.

Kurama stood up. "I'll go look for her." He then dropped his voice to a whisper when he realized that his mother was standing behind him. "Don't worry, I'll find her."

"But it's late. I don't want to trouble you Shu-"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He hung up the phone hastily and went to his room to get his jacket. When he came back downstairs, his mother was standing by the banister at the bottom with one hand on her chest.

"Is everything alright?" She asked anxiously. "Are you going out this late at night?"

Kurama put his arms into his jacket sleeves and zipped up the front. "I'll be back in the morning, mother." He then rushed out the front door leaving his poor mother still standing at the bottom of the stairs totally confused.

…

"Where the heck am I?" Kira shouted as her kidnapper flung her back against a cold stone wall. She was in a dark, dark room. But she couldn't actually tell if it was a room or something else. She could barely see a few feet in front of her even when her eyes adjusted to the darkness all she saw was more darkness. Not being able to see or tell where she was made her a little bit frightened, but this wasn't the first time she had been kidnapped. Oh, no. This was one time of now many times, but she had a sense of dread still. What if the others couldn't help her this time? And what the hell did this guy want with her?

"Somewhere where no one can find you." The cloaked figure replied shaking a finger at her as if disciplining a child.

"Who are you?"

"That doesn't concern you, Kokoro."

"That's not my name! Didn't you hear me before numbskull? It's Kira."

"It's still inconsequential." He shrugged. "Now be good and wait here while I assemble the others." He disappeared abruptly.

"Jerk," Kira mumbled leaning her head back against the wall. She closed her eyes, her heart was racing. _Calm down, calm down…_she chanted in her head as she slowed down her breathing until it was normal. She reopened her eyes to see two crystal orbs staring down at her. "What the hell?" She freaked trying to back up until she realized that a wall was behind her and that was impossible so she scrambled to her feet and pushed her arms forward to create as much space as she could between the new person and herself.

"No need to be afraid."

Kira looked down to see Sega standing there gazing up at her with unblinking eyes.

"I'm Sega, the-"

"Guardian of Time?" Kira finished weakly looking perplexedly at him. She expected the Guardian of Time to be some macho demon or older anyway, this was a kid!

"Correct, I'm a prisoner here, just like you." He said with a sad voice. "That was Kurushimi who brought you here. It seems Genkai didn't heed my warning."

"What warning?" Kira blinked.

"I told her that bad things were going to come to pass unless she…never mind. It's unimportant now, they're nearly done with me." He lowered his gaze as if something terribly miserable and gloomy was going to happen and only he could foresee it.

Kira furrowed her eyebrows so they formed a 'V'. "What are you talking about kid?" She wanted to shake his shoulders until he gave her a straight answer, but her gut told her that he was right. Whether it was her psychic initiative or just an instinctive feeling she had in the pit of her now churning stomach a very foreboding feeling that a dreadful event was about to take place.

He focused his piercing eyes back up at her and shook his head. "I'm terribly sorry about what's going to happen to you and your friends. I wish it wouldn't have to be this way."

…

"What's going on?" Kuwabara inquired as he ran after Kurama, Yusuke and Hiei who were at least thirty feet ahead of him. You couldn't blame the guy for lagging behind though, he was in his pajamas and wearing fluffy rabbit slippers, not the best shoes for running, but cozy to relax in. He instantly regretted not putting on his sneakers.

"Kira's gone missing…again." Yusuke said to him over his shoulder to Kuwabara.

"Was she kidnapped?" Kuwabara asked, now panting a little. Although, it was kind of clear at this point she was. He squinted his eyes as he continued following them in the night. _That Kamiyama had trouble hording her where ever she goes. It's like flies to light, youkai and her. This is really getting out of hand, we should put a tracking device on her. I'm getting tired of running… _

"Most likely, she gets into so much tight spots these days it's hard to know who wants to kill her." Yusuke answered. To be honest, at first he thought she hadn't been kidnapped, they had gotten into a little tiff before, but she wasn't the kind of girl to make others worry about her this much. "Got any idea where she is, Kurama? Or who has her this time?"

"I thought it was palpable." Kurama said, side glancing at Yusuke incredulously.

"Wait, you think those cloaked guys have something to do with it?" Yusuke said curiously.

"Well, it would make sense seeing that they are the only villains you've been fighting as of late." Hiei stated coldly, wishing Kurama hadn't asked him to come along. That girl could be eaten by rabid chipmunks for all he cared and he would be perfectly content with that.

"Shorty has a point." Kuwabara agreed through gritted teeth. He hated agreeing with Hiei.

"Yes because I'm using logic to deduct possibilities while you grope aimlessly in the dark for the painfully obvious." Hiei snorted contemptuously.

Kuwabara glared. "Hey! Why you little punk! Wait until I get my hands on you!"

Kurama suddenly stopped causing Yusuke and Hiei to stop, but Kuwabara still had so much momentum that when he tried to stop he ended up barreling over Yusuke, sending the two teenagers crashing on the hard ground.

A boy was standing in the middle of the street wearing baggy jeans and a black t-shirt. His amethyst eyes cut through the darkness. His brown hair was messy as if he had been ruffling it all day. The street light above him cast his long and lanky shadow out across the paved road. It was unmistakable who it was.

"What's with the stop?" Yusuke asked, shoving Kuwabara off of him.

"Don't shove me Urameshi!"

"Then don't land on top of me you big galoot!"

"Takuto." Kurama muttered quietly, glaring seethingly at the brunette boy in front of him. "Why are you out here?"

"I knew something interesting was bound to happen sooner or later and looks like I guessed right when I thought that that something would happen tonight." He said airily.

"This doesn't concern you." Kurama narrowed his emerald eyes which flashed in the night.

Takuto thumbed his nose arrogantly. "This doesn't does it?" He turned so his profile was facing them and sighed in a sarcastic manner. "Well, if you don't want to know where Kira is then fine…it's not like I care about what they do to her." He spoke in such a way that gave away that he knew much more about the situation than any of them.

Kurama's body stiffened. Was he lying? Was he telling the truth? Did he know something about her whereabouts? In all honesty, he felt like strangling the human in front of him, only his human side prevented him from doing so. If Takuto knew anything of value then killing him would just waste more time and Kira could seriously be in danger. All Kurama knew was he was getting really, extremely peeved by this guy. However, he was probably they're only lead in locating Kira so what choice did he and the others have? He decided he would have to be as about this as possible to prevent Takuto from messing with him and not giving him the straight answers he wanted.

Kurama walked forward and grabbed Takuto by his shirt collar, his eyes dead serious. "What do you know? I'm warning you not to waste me time or else you'll regret ever stepping outside your house tonight."

**XXXXXXX**

My apologies, Yusuke and Kurama (well, he is in love with an extremely dense girl so FORGIVE HIM DAMMIT) were way OOC in this chapter.

Dc-chan: I just literally made a account so check it out if you want to at daretodreamstudio on myspace, okay? Feel free to friend me if you have a account as well. The more the merrier, right? Right?

MCT: She's demented.

Seraph: Happy demented.

Dc-chan: Oh, go fck yourselves.

Seraph: Where's Suzume?

Dc-chan: She's coming up so hush, be patient and Kokuei's appearance is coming up too…this story is going to get very interesting the chapter after next. Kokuei's role kinda went from a cameo to an actually much bigger role in the upcoming chapters. But I'm saying anything else until those chapters are posted!

RANDOM NOTE: When I was in Scotland there was a store called FCUK, FC stood for the store initials (I forget what though) and the UK stood for the United Kingdom, but I still thought seeing that was funny as hell. HAHA!

NEXT CHAPTER: The Guardian of Time, Stage IV (final stage…hopefully) I'm almost done with that chapter too, it should be up by Thursday or Friday.

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	10. The Guardian of Time, Stage IV

Dc-chan: If you don't like cliffhangers than you're going to hate what I have in store for the end of the **next **chapter very, very, very much.

MCT: Yeah, because-

Dc-chan: -hits MCT over the head- Don't spoil it! Oh geez, the ending to the next chapter is going to be so evil…

Disclaimer: If you figured out that I don't own this then you're very good at pointing out the obvious.

**XXXXXXX**

Chapter 10 of Define 'Normal'

The Guardian of Time, Stage IV

Kurama narrowed his blazing green eyes at Takuto. "Well?" He huffed irritably letting go of the boy's collar, but still glaring at him. "What do you know?"

Takuto grinned smugly and put his hands on his hips. He looked at each of them amusedly before starting to speak. "You're not going to find her by just running around. She's in a place no normal person can get to, but none of us are exactly normal, are we?" He probably meant it as a joke, but he coughed in his hand before continuing when Yusuke and Kuwabara tightened their hands into fists. "It's difficult to explain where she is because technically she's not here, or in Makai or in Reikai. She's in a special place, I guess you could say it's a lot like a plane in-between worlds that shouldn't exist. A place of darkness…" he trailed off.

"So, where the hell is this place you're talking about?" Yusuke demanded angrily, Takuto's description of where Kira was being held captive only made him confused.

Takuto shuffled his feet. "We can't get there."

Kurama moved forward, but Takuto backed up to evade him with his hands raised in front of him.

"You didn't let me finish explaining." Takuto said rolling his eyes. "I said we can't there, but I know someone who can open up the portal to take us there."

Hiei glowered at the boy from the corners of his eyes, his crimson eyes flashing. "Your sister, I presume."

"Oh, you've met her?" Takuto said turning to Hiei with an interested expression.

"Yes." Hiei replied chillily, not taking his eyes off Takuto. "I was sent to save her when she was lost in the forest a few months ago."

Kuwabara elbowed Yusuke. "What's shorty about? That kid has a sister?"

"Hard to imagine, isn't it?" Yusuke stated, elbowing Kuwabara back much harder and in his ribs.

"Really?" Takuto cupped his chin in his hand thoughtfully. "Well, that's interesting. I never pinned you as the type of guy to rescue someone, especially a human."

Hiei put his hand on the hilt of his sword ominously, but said nothing further about the subject.

"Anyway, about my sister." Takuto clapped his hands together. "She's kind of like a witch, I guess you could say, but her powers are so much cooler."

"Your sister can open the portal?" Yusuke asked dubiously.

Takuto nodded. "Yeah, she can. Vortex manipulation, ever heard of it?"

"No…"

"Didn't think so."

Yusuke gritted his teeth. _Must restrain…from beating…the living…crap out of him…_ Yusuke exhaled heavily, calming down. Now was no time to get worked up and pound the only person who knew someone who could help them into a bloody pulp. That would only make matters worse.

"So, are you going to take us to this sister of yours?" Kurama inquired, regaining his pose on the outside, but on the inside he felt like he was going to go crazy. Kira might as well walk around with a huge flashing neon sign that read 'Kidnap me! I'm totally oblivious to my surroundings 24/7!'

Takuto walked a few steps down the street then beckoned them. "Follow me. What's the worse that could happen?"

They all glanced at each other, their hatred for Takuto seemed to be mutual. Even Hiei was aggravated by the teenager, his cocky know-it-all attitude was very standoffish.

Grudgingly, they followed him into the night.

…

Kira briskly walked around the darkness, pulling a perplexed Sega along with her.

"What are you doing?" He wondered as she groped in the darkness with her other hand.

She sighed heavily. "I'm trying to find a way out of here. If there's a way in, there's a way out." Kira wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. It wasn't that it was heat where they were, it was actually quite cold, but she was walking so fast that it was like a cardio workout. "You got any better ideas?"

Sega shook his head slowly.

"I figured that." It was so weird where they were. There were stone walls all around them, but no windows or doors. In other words, no way in or out. But there had to be a way, right? How else could she have ended up in there with Sega?

"It's because you need a special power to escape." Sega explained quietly. "One that you and I don't possess."

"And you're telling me this now?" Kira burst letting go of his hand and sinking down against the closest wall. She buried her face in her hands. This was hopeless, hopeless, hopeless.

Sega sat down next to her with his legs cross and elbows resting on his knees. "Thanks for trying though. You're nice."

"Not really." Kira said bitterly.

"What do you mean?" He tilted his head to one side. "You seem nice to me."

"It's complicated." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I do lots of stupid stuff and I blow up at people a lot. I don't mean to, it just happens."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He raised his eyebrows innocently.

She lowered her eyelids. "What are you? My therapist?"

"Maybe it will help if you talk about it." He suggested politely.

Kira cast him a dark look before biting her lip. It was none of his business. He had nerve to ask or even suggest such a stupid thing. "You're a little kid. You wouldn't understand."

"Actually, I'm over two thousand years old. I never age because this is how I am." He ratified quickly. "Try me. What do you have to lose?"

She hunched her shoulders over. "Fine, but nothing that is said in here leaves this room. Got it, pipsqueak?" She growled at him. When she saw him bob his head up and down she took that as her cue to start, but where to start? There was so much that was bothering her at the moment besides being kidnapped. "The most pressing problem I guess…is that my friends don't tell me anything. They keep important secrets from me that I should know because it concerns me. It really pisses me off when they do stuff like that. They think they're _protecting_ me by not telling me."

"Maybe if you see it from there point of view you'd comprehend it better." Sega said. "They're your friends, they don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Kira fiddled her thumbs idly. "I suppose…"

"There's something else bothering you." Sega noted, studying her face with keen interest. "I can see it in your eyes. That's not the real thing that you think is annoying you, it's something else."

Kira scowled. Could he really see it that easily despite how hard she tried to hide it? The conflicting emotions that she had struggled to suppress for over a year were swirling around inside of her. She directed her brown eyes elsewhere. She did not want to talk about that. Anything BUT that.

Sega said nothing, but she could feel his gaze lingering on her in the darkness. It was a creepy feeling knowing that someone could possibly see what was really troubling you with one look.

After minutes of awkward silence she jumped up onto her feet and waved her arms around. "Okay, okay! I'll fess up!" She put her hands behind her head and inhaled sharply. "I think…I like…Kurama…wait, no. I know I like him. I've liked him ever since I was little that's why I teased him so much. And now I just don't know how to deal with these feelings." She sat down with her legs underneath her.

"Have you ever told him?"

"Hell no!"

"Why not?"

"Because…it's just weird, okay?"

"Does he like you?"

Kira paused before answering. He did. She knew it. It was obvious, but she pretended like she didn't notice in hopes that he would give up on her. Maybe Kurama didn't get it that she felt she wasn't ready for any sort of romantic relationship with anyone. Although sometimes she was extremely dense. Hell, she didn't know how much he liked her until he tried to kiss her not too long ago.

"I presume he does." She replied flatly.

Just then a portal opened in the middle of the room and a hooded figure came out of it.

"Come now." It was a woman's voice. "It's time to put you to use, Sega."

Kira pushed Sega behind her protectively so she was positioned between the strange woman and the Guardian of Time.

"So you want to play?" The woman mused chuckling darkly. "I'm sorry, but we have no time for your games." She raised one of her hands slowly and faced her palm at Kira. A sudden burst of energy shoot out and flung Kira back and pinned her against the wall.

Kira stifled a yell as pain shot through her body upon the contact of her back against the stone wall. She made such an effort not to cry out in pain that she bit her lip so hard that blood trickled down her chin.

"That will keep you in check for the time being. We only need you to lure the others here." Her voice was passionless and icy, as if nothing in her life had ever fazed her. "Until they get here," she recoiled her hand causing Kira to fall to the ground, "you just be a good little girl." She grabbed Sega and jerked him forward until he had no choice but to follow her into the portal which disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Kira pushed herself up with her hands. Her back was sore and her head ached. What was the point of being a psychic if she never thought to use her powers when she needed to. She rolled over onto her side. "Now, I'm really getting pissed off."

…

"Suzume?" Takuto knocked on the door again. "I know you're in there."

Kurama glanced at the watch on his wrist. "It's getting late. Are you sure she'll be able to open the portal?"

"For the final time, yes!" Takuto said in an exasperated tone. He then pounded on his sister's door with his fist. "Suzume? Do you want a very angry fox to kill your older brother?"

"Can't say that wouldn't be an improvement," Hiei muttered while wondering at the same time why the hell he was there..

Yusuke and Kuwabara sniggered.

They quieted down when they heard a faint rustling coming from the other side of the door. Slowly the knob turned and a girl with eyes just like Takuto's and the same brown hair peeked out from behind the door cautiously.

"Ah, Suzume!" Takuto exclaimed happily. "Sorry to wake you up at this hour, but we kinda need your help."

She opened the door completely. She was a short girl and was very skinny. She had on a long plain white shirt and plaid sleep pants with fuzzy slippers, her clothes looked far to large for her and appeared to be devouring her small frame. Her brown hair was in a messy bun and stray hairs framed her thin face. Her skin was pale like a ghosts and she seemed meek.

"With what?" She asked, her voice no louder than a mouse squeak.

"You see." He glanced nervously at the four people behind him. "Their friend got taken by some youkai and we need to rescue her and the Guardian of Time before any bad stuff happens. Problem, is we need a portal to get to where they are."

Suzume swallowed. "Alright." She stepped out into the hallway. "Conjuring a portal shouldn't be too hard. Where do you need it to lead too?"

Takuto inclined his head a bit. "To the in-between world."

She widened her eyes. "To…that place…" she stuttered. "But, that's a very dangerous place to go."

"Well," she rested his arm on top of her head, "we need to go there…now!"

"In-between world?" Kuwabara cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah, it's a lot like here, but it's kinda…off." He then turned back to his younger sister who was looking up at him with much worry. "Relax, just open the portal and I'll be back in the morning. It'll be like I never left in the first place."

She hesitated before closing her eyes. She breathed in and out deeply for a few moments. Suzume then clasped her hands together and bowed her head in deep concentration. A small black hole began growing in front of her in the middle of the hallway steadily until it reached from the ceiling to the floor and took up the entire width of the corridor. She opened her eyes. "Umm…I did it."

Takuto patted her on the head. "Good job Su-chan." He went over to the portal and looked over his shoulder briefly. "You guys coming or what?"

**XXXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Sorry for cutting this chapter short, but I have a concert to get ready for! HYDE CONCERT IN SAN FRANCISCO BABY! For all of you who don't know, Hyde is that sexy guy who sings Ready Steady Go, FMA's first opening song. I'm so excited it's tonight!

NEXT CHAPTER: The Guardian of Time, Stage V (final stage)

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan :D


	11. The Guardian of Time, Stage V

Dc-chan: Yes, I changed my screen name because I kinda disliked my old one. For those interested in hearing about the Hyde concert, I'll have information about it after this chapter. Now, enjoy dammit!

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH like I don't own Hyde, Hiroki or Evan Taubenfeld. (I'll explain at the end of the chapter… )

XXXXXX

Chapter 10 of Define 'Normal'

The Guardian of Time, Stage V (FINAL STAGE)

The four cloaked figures stood in a circle around Sega who was standing up with his gaze lowered at the ground. Their shadows loomed over him like Death itself and he could feel an emotion he had never experienced before. It wasn't fear for himself though; it was fear for that girl and her friends. He knew what would happen after they unleashed his power upon the past.

"It's time to undo the past."

Sega bit his bottom lip. It was coming to this and there was nothing he could do to help the girl and her friends. He would have no choice.

"To severe their bonds so we may never be challenged."

Sega sighed heavily. Of course they were afraid of that, weren't all power-hungry demons afraid that the Spirit Detectives would come along and beat them into bloody pulps. What made this group of Spirit Detectives especially strong though was there friendship and loyalty to one another.

"We will shape it how we please and stop their bonds from ever forming with each other."

His heart began beating. How much of the past were they planning to change?

"We will never be defeated."

An unsettling laughter filled the room and echoed off the walls. To any other villain it would seem a pleasant laugh like one would do after announcing their plans for world domination after cornering the good guys. To any good person the laughter sounded like insane cackling a witch might do when she's about to eat some poor child she fattened up. That was the type of laugh Sega heard.

"It is time now." The cloaked figure who had been speaking the entire time declared in a cold voice and gesturing down at Sega.

Sega wanted to back away, but there was nowhere to go or run to. They would find him again and force him to bend to their will.

Shaking slightly, he nodded up at him. "Yes, sir."

He closed his eyes and breathed in and out, the hourglass on his forehead began to glow a light, but bright blue. His eyes snapped open, his irises and pupils were white and a strange light was emitting from his eyes.

"Be careful Zetsubou-sama."

"I will, you will know if I have succeeded."

With that, the largest of the four cloaked figures knelt down and put a hand on Sega's shoulder. "I trust you three to take care of things while I'm gone." In a flash he disappeared like he was never there.

…

Kira sat down on the ground while scowling. To her it felt like the day could not get any worse, but knowing her luck it probably would get a whole lot worse before it got any better.

_"Kira?" _

Kira blinked stupidly at hearing the sound of her own name.

_"Kira, can you hear me?" _

"Great…" Kira thought aloud to herself. "Now I'm hearing things…" She covered her ears with her hands and lowered her head.

_"DIMWIT! You're not just hearing things! This is Genkai!" _

Kira's head snapped up. "Genkai? Grams? Are you sure I'm not just imagining your voice or something?"

_"Oh no, you're absolutely right. I'm the result of you being high off of drugs." _The voice scoffed dripping in sarcasm.

Kira arched an eyebrow inquisitively. "How are you talking to me?"

_"Telepathy, moron." _

"Ohhh…gotcha." Kira stood up and put a hand on her hip. "So what do you want old lady?"

_"You need to stop them from using Sega to undo the past." _

"I kinda figured that for myself." Kira muttered bitterly. "But what can I do? I'm stuck here which is…somewhere…I don't know where." She scratched the back of her head as she quickly glanced around her surroundings. There was absolutely no visible way out of the room.

_"Can't you think of anything in that thick head of yours?" _

"You know, this really isn't helping me get anywhere. This is just making the situation much more frustrating." Kira stretched her arms over her head nonchalantly before yawning. "So, if you can't help than why are you talking to me?"

_"Listen, you need to stop them." _

"Yeah, I know that." Kira stated coolly. "But I can't really do anything right now. In case you're a little heard of hearing let me repeat myself…I'M STUCK GENIUS!"

"_You have a death wish if you ever use that tone of voice with me again." _Genkai berated angrily at her granddaughter.

"Sorry."

_"The others are probably on their way to rescue you and help you out." _Genkai reasoned.

Kira rolled her brown eyes. "Well, they're sure taking their sweet ass time getting here."

_"Crossing dimensions does take a while…" _

"Wunderschön." Kira grumbled. (Wonderful)

_"What was that?" _

"German."

_"Is there a particular reason you know German?" _

"I have lots of free time on my hands." She let out a long sigh before continuing. "Back to the baddies, how do you propose I stop them?"

_"Just don't let them turn back time! The result will be disastrous!" _

"Right," said Kira, "so, what the hell do I do about it?"

_"When the others get there, I think you'll figure something out. If not, then we're all screwed." _

"That's putting it bluntly."

Suddenly a swirling black vortex appeared in the middle of the room, it was is if someone had conjured it out of thin air. However, Kira's hopes were soon dashed when it was Ranmyaku who stepped out of it.

"Who were you talking to?" He demanded. "Atsureki felt psychic energy in here."

"I wasn't talking to anyone." She shrugged in response.

"Yes you were. Who were you talking to?" He stomped his foot.

Kira stuck her tongue out at him. "No one."

"You expect me to believe that you were talking to yourself?"

"Why not? I heard it's perfectly healthy and normal to have conversations with yourself one in a while. It's when people do it a lot that you have to start worrying."

He grabbed her by her wrist tightly. "Are you under the impression that this is some type of game, huh? Do you find this amusing?"

She struggled to free herself from his grip, but his grip wouldn't loosen. He glared down at her with his icy blue eyes. She looked away from him, but felt his hard gaze on her even though she was trying not to. It reminded her of the way Kurama would look at her if she did something extremely stupid, but that was out of concern for her well-being, this wasn't and that's why it felt awkward to her.

He pulled her forward without a word into the vortex. There was a great rush of wind against her face and a few seconds later she found herself in a place quite similar to the other except the other mysterious cloaked figures and Sega were there.

Ranmyaku pushed her down to the ground. "Stay there." He hissed as he walked over to the others.

"Do I have a choice?" She yelled back at him which he seemed to ignore. Kira wrung her hands. _Where are the others when you need them? _

The very second she thought that thought she heard a loud noise above her. Slowly, as if disbelieving what she was hearing, she directed her eyes upward to see Yusuke, Kuwabara, Takuto (the three of them were screaming their heads off as they got closer to the ground), Kurama, and, Hiei hurling towards her at an alarmingly fast speed.

On pure instinct she dove out of the way just in time to hear them all land in a loud crashing noise. She peered over her shoulder to se Kurama and Hiei had landed on their feet while the other three had landed in a pile on the ground.

"Ow…" Yusuke moaned.

"Get eff me." Kuwabara, who had the unfortunate luck to be at the bottom of the pile, said loudly.

"Thanks for cushioning my landing." Takuto joked.

Kuwabara shoved both Yusuke and Takuto off gruffly. "Yeah, anytime you two need to land on someone so you don't go splat on the ground, give me a call." He said sarcastically.

"Are you alright. Kira?" Kurama asked, ignoring the others and walking up to Kira. He felt his chest tighten as he spoke to her.

Kira tilted her head and smiled. "I'm totally fine! No permanent damage done."

Kurama put a hand on his chest and sighed in relief. "That's good to hear." It was alleviating to know that she was alright. He had feared for the worse, but she seemed not to be hurt.

"About time you idiots got here too!" Kira said in an annoyed tone. "Genkai said we got to stop them! How'd you get here anyway?"

"Takuto's little sister…" Yusuke trailed off giving Takuto a cold stare. It was clear that nobody really liked the guy.

"Crap!" Ranmyaku said before looking wildly at his two cloaked companions. "What do we do now?"

"Relax." Atsureki whispered sharply at him. "There's not much they can do at this point." She indicated to Sega who was between them who also appeared to be in some sort of trance. "Zetsubou-sama is already in the past altering it."

Sega's eyes were glowing whiter and brighter with each passing second.

"I will take care of the pests."

"Kurushimi?" Atsureki sounded alarmed.

Kurushimi stepped forward and slowly took down his hood. He held up a hand to silence any further protests from Atsureki or Ranmyaku. For a demon, he looked fairly normal looking much like Ranmyaku. He had long black hair with many strands covering his forehead. His eyes were so dark brown they appeared black and his skin was almost sheer white, making him seem like he was glowing in the dark room.

"Keep them from getting close to Sega." Kurushimi ordered, narrowing his eyes.

"Geez, doesn't he look intimidating." Yusuke said audaciously.

"I don't know, he looks more like a girl." Kuwabara chimed in.

"A very pissed girl." Kira agreed.

"SILENCE!" Kurushimi roared at them, a vein throbbing in his temple.

"Girly man…" Kira said out of the corner of her mouth which probably wasn't the best thing to say.

Kurushimi flicked his wrist at Kira which sent her flying backgrounds then skidding along the floor. "Does anyone else want to be introduced into a world of pain?"

Kira jumped to her feet with her fists clenched tightly into balls and clearly pissed. "Ow, asshole! That hurt!" The right side of her body which had skidded on the floor was now all covered in blood. She rolled up her right t-shirt sleeve and pant leg to prevent more blood more getting on her clothes not that it would do much good since it was already soaked in blood at this point.

"That was the point." Kurushimi fired back. "Now, does anybody else have something to say?"

Kurama rushed over to Kira. "That doesn't look good."

"It's fine." She snapped while folding her arms over her chest. "He just caught me off guard, that's all."

He reached and gently touched her right arm which she immediately recoiled which a sharp intake of breath. If a small bit of pressure like that hurt then she wasn't fine. Kurama stared down at her, she was avoiding making any kind of eye connect with him whatsoever. She was stubborn to admit that she was hurt and it was one of those small things about her that made her put herself in so much danger. He didn't want anything to happen to her that would injure her. Although, in the line of work of being a Spirit Detective getting wounded was something that would always happen regardless.

"See, you're not okay." He said calmly. Kurama turned towards Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and Takuto. "I think you four should handle this, I need to make sure Kira doesn't overextend herself."

"Oh no you don't!" Kira exclaimed shaking an index finger at him. "I'm perfectly-" A wave of pain shot through her right arm making her collapse to the ground with her hair thrown over her head covering her face. "On second thought, maybe I should sit this one out."

Kurama raised an eyebrow and grinned slightly at her. "Just take deep breaths, you'll be fine." He put his hand on her back as he kneeled down next to her. "Don't panic, you'll be alright."

"We'll take care of this guy." Yusuke nodded.

"Do me a favor," Kira said weakly, "make it hurt…a lot."

"Consider it done." Yusuke smiled smugly.

Without warning, Kurushimi flicked both of his wrists knocking Takuto, Kuwabara and Yusuke back. Hiei was quick enough to evade the attack and jumped to the side and unsheathed his sword.

It quickly turned into a fight between Hiei and Kurushimi. Both were moving so quickly they appeared to be blurs to the untrained eye. The only indication to where they were was the sound of Hiei's sword swishing through the air and Kurushimi's heavy footsteps.

As their eyes tried to follow the fight, it was impossible to tell who was winning. Both seemed to be fighting with such intensity that they weren't letting any inflicted injuries slow them down.

There was a loud crash sound and Hiei's sword was seen spinning through the air then landing with its blade in the ground a few feet away from Kira and Kurama. There were chips and dents all over it and a thin trickle of blood running down one side of it.

Hiei and Kurushimi reappeared in the center of the room, both were panting heavily and had beads of sweat on their faces.

At some point in the fight Hiei had lost his shirt revealing his nicely sculpted abs. His body was covered in cuts and bruises.

Kurushimi's black cloak was torn in various places, but other than that there only appeared to be a few scratches on him. There was, however, one rather long cut on the side of his face which crimson blood was seeping out of. He straightened himself up wiped a bit of blood on his lip off with the back of his hand. He then held up both of his hands and a dark blue glowing energy ball appeared in. Kurushimi threw both of them at Hiei who only just dodged them, but only to be hit in the back by both of them as they turned around like heat seeking missiles. The energy balls blasted against his bare back like two little bombs, the blast sent Hiei sprawling on the floor on his stomach with two rather large black circular marks on his back where he had been hit.

"Can we panic now?" Kira asked after gulping. If Hiei couldn't beat this guy then they were, for lack of a better word, screwed, just like Genkai said.

"Spirit Sword!" Kuwabara yelled as it appeared in his hand. He lunged at Kurushimi we swatted him away like he was a fly.

Kuwabara recovered swiftly. "Sword, extend!" The sword grew about four times longer and using both hand, he swung it down at Kurushimi, slicing the demon cleanly in half. "Ha! Take that!" He pumped his hand up in victory as his sword dissipated.

"I don't think he's dead yet." Kurama noted, sweat dropping.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yusuke inquired in puzzlement. "Kuwabara chopped that youkai in two."

"Yeah, I did." Kuwabara beamed as he glanced back over his shoulder only to see Kurushimi standing there behind him. "Oh shit!" Kuwabara jumped away from Kurushimi, but his reaction was a little too slow because Kurushimi punched him across right in the stomach then kicked him in the face.

"This can't be good." Yusuke said, his face paling as Kuwabara now lay on the other side of the room face down on the ground.

Kurushimi grabbed Yusuke around the throat and began strangling him. "You're quite right. You can't kill me with ordinary methods."

Kira clutched Kurama's shirt. "You have to do something."

"I can't leave you here." He said stridently.

"You have to or he'll kill Yusuke!" She rebuffed hotly. "Or do you want me to do something about it?"

"But what about Takuto?" He didn't want to leave her defenseless and he didn't want Kurushimi to hurt her anymore.

"Oh yeah…" Kira muttered before glaring at the brunette. "Takuto save Yusuke or I'll kill you myself!"

The brunette rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll try…" He took a fighting stance and made his hand into a gun with his thumb up, his index finger pointing at Kurushimi and his other fingers folded in. "Rei-gun!" A beam of spirit energy shot out of his finger, but Atsureki got in the way and deflected it with a wave of her hand, sending it straight back at Takuto and hitting him in the chest.

"See?" Kira grunted pushing Kurama forward. "The whelp was useless, you have to do something."

"But, Kira…" His eyes become softer as he gazed at her.

"Don't Kira me!"

Kurushimi dropped Yusuke onto the floor and turned on Atsureki. "What was that for?" He growled throatily.

"You were about to be blindsided because you were so busy strangling the boy. You should be thankful I saved your ass." She said furiously at him.

Yusuke rubbed his neck and gasped for air, but he only had a short reprieve as Kurushimi then put his foot on the teenager's back and crushed him against the ground.

"I almost forgot about you." Kurushimi sneered icily.

Yusuke gritted his teeth, trying not to yell in pain. He would not give the bastard the pleasure of knowing how much it hurt to have his foot between his shoulder blades. Not a bone in his body would allow Kurushimi that satisfaction.

"Now, how should I torment you?"

"What?" Yusuke said in disbelief. "You're not going to kill me?"

"Maybe later, if there is a later." Kurushimi answered driving his foot into Yusuke's back with more and more force.

"Kurama!" Kira said sternly before noticing his worried expression. Her face softened as she looked at him. "Please, you have to help Yusuke. He's our friend."

Kurama knew she was right, but not even the friendship he had with Yusuke could compare to how he felt about her. It was wrong for him to think her life was more important than Yusuke's, he knew that. "Only if you don't do anything reckless."

"Oh you know me, ne?" Kira said. "I've died twice already, believe me when I say I don't want to die again."

He took that as his cue to stand up.

"Kick his ass!" Kira cheered on, however another pain in her arm caused her to double over again.

He was about to take out his Rose Whip when abruptly a blinding light flooded the room, coming from Sega.

Kurushimi took his foot off of Yusuke's back. "He's done."

"In a few seconds reality will be changed." Atsureki said in a pleased voice.

"About time too." Ranmyaku sighed.

Kurama put his hands in front of his face to keep the light from hurting his eyes. He felt the room beginning to spin which caused him to fall over. He pushed himself up with his hands and felt Kira grabbing onto his back.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked at the top of her voice over the loud white noise sound that was filling the room.

"I don't know, but this can't be good!" He pulled her close to him as wind began rushing all around them.

Kira knew this was no time to be blushing, but she couldn't help it. He was hugging her so close and tightly to him that she could smell the scent of roses on him. Inside, she mentally agreed that this couldn't be good as the white noise got louder and louder. She felt like her ear drums were going to explode.

The wind that was swirling around them got stronger with each passing minute they held onto each other.

They felt the ground beneath them disappear as an imaginary force began pulling them apart until they were suddenly flung apart into the consuming white light.

XXXXXX

Dc-chan: The Hyde concert was AMAZING! They played a lot of songs from their new Faith CD! Hyde's hair was perfect the entire time and he never even got sweaty (his bass player Hiroki, who's very hot, and the other guitarist were drenched in sweat) which proves that Hyde is indeed a god. There was a cool opening band, The Black List Club. I asked the lead singer of BLC for a hug after the concert and I got one. Later I found out that he was Evan Taubenfeld, but he was hot so I don't care. During the 'quiet' parts during the concert with BLC and Hyde I yelled stuff like 'TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT/PANTS!' and 'STRIP DAMMIT!' It was fun, very fun. XD

Authoress note: My computer has been getting wonky on me for the past week and a half. Due to that, it works crappy hence the long chapter delay. Sorry.

NEXT CHAPTER: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	12. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Dc-chan: My computer has been slightly fixed, but it still runs like crap…sigh…

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, I only own my original characters and an imaginary bunny named Fufu. Little bunny Fufu walking through the forest, picking up all the field mice and bopping them on the head…you know how it goes.

This is a long chapter so be warned…

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 12 of Define 'Normal'

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

"Ju, kyu, hachi, nana…" (Ten, nine, eight, seven…)

Kira pulled a pillow over her head and mumbled, "Just a few more minutes."

"Roku, go, shi…" (Six, five, four…)

She cuddled into her covers, ignoring the sickly syrupy sweet voice.

"San, ni, ichi…" (Three, two, one…)

She moaned as she tried to block out the annoying noise.

"GAMBATTE! GAMBATTE!" (You can do it! You can do it!)

Kira jolted awake and sat upright drenched in sweat. She looked to her side to see a Hello Kitty alarm clock which was the culprit of the irritating sound. In a swift movement, she picked it up and threw it against a wall because she was too lazy to figure out how to turn it off and she was tired. Very tired. And sweaty. Eww.

The Hello Kitty alarm clock was now in bits and pieces on her bedroom floor where such things belonged in her opinion.

She rubbed her eyes and put her head in her hands trying to remember the vivid dream she was having before the stupid Hello Kitty alarm clock woke her up. Images from the dream began flashing in her mind one after the other: Four cloaked figures, a young boy with a sheet of silvery hair, a short demon which a sword, three teenage boys, a cute red head with amazing green eyes…and blinding white light which had been the last part of the dream.

She had a strange feeling as she sat in her bed and as sunlight poured into her room from a window that something was very off. The dream had seemed very real to her which made her question if it was a dream after all.

Kira scanned her room and her jaw dropped at what she saw.

The walls were painted a pale pink, there were posters of scantily dressed pop stars everywhere, cute fuzzy stuffed animals lined her shelves, on her bureau was makeup and nail polish, there was a heart shaped chair in the corner and at least a dozen pairs of shoes littering her floor.

This was so, so wrong on so many levels.

Where the hell did she get a Hello Kitty alarm clock?

What the hell was all this stuff in her room?

Where was her mountain of CDs? Her converse sneakers? Her studded belts?

A few seconds later she was running down the stairs with her arms full of torn down posters and random stuffed animals. She spotted her mom at the kitchen table and rushed over to her. "Mom! What the hell is all this crap doing in my room?"

Her mother looked up with an arched eyebrow. "What do you mean? That stuff has always been in your room." She took a sip of coffee and folded up the newspaper she had been reading. "Are you feeling alright, Kira?"

Kira dropped all the stuff on the floor and flung her arms around in circles in panic. "No, I'm not alright! My room is pink! P-I-N-K! Everything is not alright! We have a serious problem here! My room has been taken over by ugly pop stars, disgusting stuffed animals and Hello Kitty! Hello Kitty for goodness sakes!"

"Calm down, Kira." Her mother said with a worried tone.

"I can't be calm! Something weird is going on here!" Kira looked around the kitchen only to feel totally unfamiliar with it. Everything was in the wrong place, everything was different then the way she remembered it.

"Kira, you shouldn't be shouting this early in the morning." A stern voice said from behind her.

Kira whirled around to see a tall, well built man standing there in a business suit straightening his tie. He had messy black brown hair and dark blue eyes. He gave her an odd look as he walked past her into the kitchen and kissed Rika on the cheek. "I thought we agreed to cut back on her sugar intake honey."

"I know, but I don't think it's sugar." Rika replied pouring him a cup of coffee.

Kira's eyes widened as she pointed at the man. "Who in the bloody hell are you?"

"Kira!" Her mother snapped. "Don't be absurd, this is your stepfather."

"S-stepfather?" Kira stuttered, blinking in skepticism. She put her hands on the side of her head as if she was getting very dizzy. "Okay, this is getting way too freaky." She dashed back upstairs and closed the door to her room before sinking to the floor.

Suddenly, the truth hit her like a bolt of lightning.

That dream hadn't been a dream, it actually happened. Everything came rushing back to her as she remembered what had really happened, what her life had really been like before she had woken up in this alienating room.

The past had been altered and this was the result of it! In this reality she was one of those crazy teenage girls she had always hated so much and her mother had remarried.

Her first thought was to find the others, but how? Surely they would recall what had happened, right? They must be just as confused as she was right now and wondering what had happened.

"Okay, breathe, Kira. Don't panic now, you can panic later. Just keep your head on for now until you find the others." She coached herself, trying to slow down her erratic heartbeat.

There was a hard tap on her window causing her jump and dived next to her bed. Was it a demon who wanted to kill her? Some insane stalker?

Slowly and cautiously, she peered over the edge of her bed to see a familiar face outside her window. Not familiar in the good way, but nonetheless she was relieved to see someone she knew even if it was him of all people and demons.

She went over to the window and opened it. "Kokuei, you don't know how happy I am to see you." Kira would've hugged him is she didn't recollect that he had tried to kill her in the past.

He still had the dark hair and the bangs that overshadows a side of his face, the earrings and dark gothic like clothes which consisted of a long trench coat, leather pants and boots. He jumped over the window sill into her room hastily and pulled her window shades down.

"Something weird is going on here," she started in a quiet voice.

He nodded. "I know, that's why I tracked you down. It seems you were also unaffected by what Zetsubou did."

She clasped her hands together. "You know!"

Kokuei looked at her as if she was slow to catch on. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't know."

Kira looked down at the ground. "Oh yeah, right." She rolled her teeth over her bottom lip nervously. "Do the others-"

"No." He cut her off quickly, shaking his head. "I already checked on them. Things are much different now then they were." Kokuei eyes scanned her room incredulously. "Why is you room pink?"

She heaved her shoulders up and down. "We have bigger issues than that."

"Kira?" Her mother knocked on her bedroom door. "Are you feeling well? You seemed…peculiar this morning."

"Oh shit." Kira muttered under her breath before yanking Kokuei by the arm.

"Hey!" He protested. "What do you think-"

She put her hand over his mouth then shoved him into her closet and closed the door right as her mom came into her room.

"Kira?" Rika asked. "Are you-"

"I'm feeling wonderful, mom." Kira lied in a high pitched voice with her back to the closet door and her arms outstretched across the closet door. She smile falsely. "I'm totally peachy right now."

"Are you sure?" Her mom pressed as Kira began ushering out of the room hurriedly.

"Yep, never better." Kira sweatdropped.

"Well, school starts in an hour then so get ready and apologize to your stepfather for how you acted this morning." She reprimanded before leaving.

"Of course, mom." Kira pushed the door closed with one hand just as Kokuei stumbled out of her closet.

"You're not going to believe the stuff you have in your closet." Kokuei said.

Kira put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean?" She treaded over to her closet and stared inside it to see an assortment of miniskirts and blouses. "Oh, you're got to be kidding me. First that dumb Hello Kitty alarm clock and now this!" She said in amazement. "Wow, this is some messed up alternate reality. Sick man, just sick."

"So, are you going to school?" Kokuei inquired curiously.

"Pffht." Kira raised her eyebrows. "No. We got a _big_ problem on out hands here."

"Then just act like you're going so you can ditch. Then we can work on fixing this dilemma." Kokuei pointed out. "I'll meet you outside your house." He disappeared in a poof of smoke figuring it was too risky to escape through the window he came in just in case the neighbors were out and about.

Kira found her school uniform in her dresser and she was repulsed to see that it consisted of a short skirt and looked very Sailor Moon-ish. She was pleased when she look in a full length mirror on her closet wall to see that her hair was still the same as it had been before Ranmyaku and company had changed the past. She brushed out her crimson bangs so they covered her forehead than proceed to put her black hair into pigtails.

She went downstairs and grabbed a piece of toast off of her stepfather's plate then left the house without apologizing or saying goodbye to her mom. Sure enough, Kokuei was waiting for her and he was receiving quite a few stared from people passing by.

'So, what do we do first?" Kira asked in a determined voice while taking a bite of toast.

"We find the others that's what." Kokuei responded as they started walking down the street.

"But I thought you said they didn't remember anything." She said finishing her meager excuse for a breakfast.

"They don't, but you're going to need help to take down Zetsubou."

"Wait, wait! Stop!" Kira made an 'X' in front of her chest with her arms. "We have to defeat Zetsubou? We couldn't even beat his lackey Kuru…whatever the hell his name was!"

"If you ever want to undo the damage that was done then you're going to have to." Kokuei explained exasperatedly. "There's no interchangeable solution even if you go back further in time and redo what he undid so you can beat him in the present. You're going to have fix things as we go along."

"Just what exactly did he undo?" Kira crinkled her nose.

"He made sure Yoko didn't get shot by the hunter, he prevented Hiei from getting his Jaganshi so he and Kurama have never met, he stopped Yusuke from getting hit by a car so he wouldn't become a Reikai Tantei and he used Kuwabara's sixth sense to drive the guy mad, landing him in an insane asylum." Kokuei summed up for her in one sentence.

"Whoa." Kira blinked. "Information overload. So what you're saying is that none of us have ever met therefore we're not friends."

"Kuwabara and Yusuke know each other because they went to the same middle school before Kuwabara was certified as insane, but yeah, other than that you pretty much hit the nail on the head." Kokuei said putting his hands in his pants pockets.

Kira nodded as if she understood. "Okay, but then why are you helping me?"

"Because this isn't the way things are supposed to be." He answered curtly. "Besides, I happen to know someone who can really help us with this." He hinted with a grin.

She seemed satisfied with his answer. "What do we do first?"

"Contact Sega."

"Sega…" Kira blinked at him. "I thought the baddies had him."

Kokuei scratched his temple with his index finger. "Actually no. This is an altered reality, remember? Things are different here then the way they were."

"You have him?"

"No, but I know where he is."

"Okay!" Kira raised her hands in the air. "Let's go-"

"Kira!" A voice yelled from across the street.

"Hm?" Kira saw a girl with short light brown hair running over to her and wearing the same school uniform. "Who are you?"

"Haha, very funny Kira." She locked arms with Kira. "Is this your boyfriend? He's cute. Why didn't you tell me you were dating?"

Kira mouthed 'help me' to Kokuei who was watching helplessly as the unknown girl was guiding Kira in the opposite direction.

"Seriously," Kira said, "who are you?"

The girl laughed again. "Dummy, did you hit your head this morning? It's me, your best friend since, like, forever. The incredible Machiko! So about that cute boy, he your newest boyfriend or what?"

Kira blushed like mad. "No, of course not! I don't date!"

"Right, right." Machiko said sarcastically with a huge smile on her face.

Kira glared at the giggling girl. Why would she have a friend as annoying as this? She focused on the girl's thoughts, hoping that even though this was a different present than what she knew that her psychic powers still worked.

_I bet she is dating him. It's so like her to deny it. Just like when she was dating Taro, she completely denied it. She always gets the cute guys though. It's not fair, I wish that some would ask me out too. What's so special about her anyway? She has a flat chest and a squeaky voice for crying out loud!_

Kira grimaced and ceased reading the girl's thoughts. _At least my psychic powers still work_, she thought to herself. There was a reason she didn't have friends like this and that reason was even more obvious now. Kira looked behind her to see Kokuei was following them sulking. _He should be sulking! Letting this psychotic maniac take me!_ _He didn't even try to stop her!_ She pouted as Machiko continued pulling her along.

Before Kira knew what was happening next, the deranged teenage girl, otherwise known as Machiko, was taking Kira through the front yard of a big white school building then preceded to drag her into the hallway.

Kira contemplated knocking the girl out and running away as fast as she could.

When they entered a classroom a huge group of other girls immediately flocked around them mindless zombies.

Kira didn't pay any attention to them when they acknowledged her, she was more worried about how to get out of here. She tried to leave but Machiko was still holding onto her arm and Kira feared that she would never let go and end up lugging the idiot to the other side of town. She was like a leach, sucking the energy to protest out of Kira.

By the time the school bell rang Kira was sitting at a desk with her head resting on it and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. This alternate world was too much for her to handle. What had happened in her life that had made it this way? Did she move to New York when she was a little kid? That experience is what had toughened her up, but the effect of not moving to New York had made her into her worst fear: a mindless drone to pop culture. This was DEFINATLY not the way things were going to stay.

"Morning, Kira." A boy sitting next to her whispered.

Kira lifted her head a few inches off of her desk and stared with a dead pan face a him. "Do I know you?"

He stifled a laugh as the homeroom teacher started writing frantically on the chalkboard. "Machiko was right, you are acting weird. Did you acquire brain damage or something?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Kira smiled cynically. "But I'll damage your brain if you don't stop talking to me." She didn't want to be here at all. Where did Kokuei go anyway? Shouldn't he be trying to help her get out of this before she ripped out her hair from going crazy.

"Harsh word choice."

"I'm really not in the mood to beat the crap out of someone right now so unless…actually, I am in the mood so don't push it buster."

"Aw, c'mon. I'm just trying to start some friendly conversation here."

Kira grinned so wide that her wisdom teeth showed as she put her hand on the back of the boy's head. "You want some friendly conversation? I'll show you some friendly conversation with your desk." With that she pushed his head forward so it hit his desk with a loud THUMP! sound causing the teacher and every other student in the class to turn in their seats and stare at her.

"Kamiyama!" The teacher said in shock.

"What?" Kira said standing up. "I don't have time for this, I have much better stuff to do so bye, bye." She walked out of the classroom with rapid footsteps and as she descended down a flight of stairs to the bottom floor of the school she saw Kokuei leaning against the shoe cubby.

"Handled it yourself, did you?"

"Causing a poor innocent guy a concussion in the process, but at least we can leave this horrifying place. Did you find Sega?"

"No which is why I need to leave you for a few hours to get him. Will you be okay by yourself?" He asked.

Kira folded her arms. "Sure, I'm just going to find Yusuke and Kuwabara and try to talk some sense into them or salvage what is left of them.

"Be careful then."

"Why?"

"Well, since there aren't any Reikai Tantei then that means there are a lot more youkai running around so just be on guard." Kokuei warned her. "We're not going to be able to fix things if you die."

"Oh." Kira said, her mouth forming an 'O'. "That makes sense. But I still have my psychic abilities so I should be good, right?"

"You know that necklace you have?"

Kira nodded as she fingered her necklace. She remembered that Botan had given it to her so many months ago and that Kokuei's father, Toshihiro, had made it for her. She had almost forgotten about it even though she still wore it all the time.

"If you get into a tight spot that necklace will also summon me to help you." He enlightened with a weary stare at the necklace. It was clear he wasn't particularly fond of anything associated with his father. "With that said, try not to get into fight unless you're absolutely positive you won't need me."

"Is this how you're always able to find me?" Kira asked holding the obsidian stone in her fingers.

"Yeah," he admitted with a deep exhale of breathe. "I'm gonna go now. Don't do anything stupid, please." He vanished in a cloud of smoke again like he had in her room.

She waved a hand in front of her face to make the tendrils of smoke lingering in front of her go away. Kira then tapped her index finger against her lips. "I guess I should get going too. If I was Yusuke, where would I be right now?" She gazed up at the cracks on the ceiling above her and a small grin tugged at her lips. "Isn't that the most obvious question or what?"

…

The arcade wasn't as crowded as Kira thought it would be. She figured he would be here because this is where he always was if not just chilling on the roof of his school. There were hardly any school aged kids at the arcade at this time in the morning.

She paced around the arcade a few times, examining almost every person she saw to see if they were Yusuke or not. She knew that sometimes when he came to this place he wore sunglasses and a hat so other wannabe punk kids from his rival school, Kasane, wouldn't bother him. Kira even went as far as to remove some strangers glasses and hats, much to their annoyance, to see if any of them was Yusuke.

Finally, after several threats to place a restraining order on her and thirty minutes later she found him. It was unmistakable that it was him. Who else jelled back their hair with booze? She also recognized him by the jeans and red jacket he was wearing.

She tiptoed over to him and put her hands on his shoulder and shouted into his ear. "Hey, Yusuke!"

He fell to the side off of his seat and glowered at her. He stood up after a few moments and dusted off his jacket. "Do I know you?" He put his hands in his jacket pockets as he studied her. Yusuke quickly noted her goofy grin seemed familiar, but he was also positive he had never seen her before in his life. "Do you get kicks out of scaring people half to death?"

"Sorta…" She said sheepishly before tackling him in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you!" She draped her arms around his neck. "I know you don't remember me or anything, but I promise I'll fix this mess so we can be good, good friends again!"

Yusuke blinked stupidly. This girl was mental! What was she talking about?

He ducked out under her arms causing her to fall flat on her face. "Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but never do that again."

"But Yusuke!" Kira whined. "You need to trust me!" She watched helplessly as her once friend sauntered off leaving her sitting on the floor with her legs folded under her. "Yusuke!" Kira flailed her arms around like a little kid who wasn't getting their way. She got up and ran after him then jumped on his back, knocking him over on the street. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Because you're acting like a disturbed girlfriend." He murmured. "And for the last time, I don't know you."

"Yusuke…" she sobbed vociferously into her hands.

"Oh no, not that crying thing that girls do. Don't you dare pull that one!" Yusuke scolded vehemently.

"I'm perfectly entitled to do the crying thing." Kira sniffed, peeking through the cracks in her hands to see if he believed that she was actually crying or not.

Yusuke tried to look away, but a part of him couldn't help but to feel a nugget of compassion for her. She had to have some balls for pulling the crying thing in public especially now since they were both getting some serious confused and interested stares from people going by them. It wasn't everyday you see two teenagers sprawled on the sidewalk and one of them sobbing hysterically.

"Fine." He put his hands up in surrender. "Let's say for a second I truly consider what you're saying about us being friends at one point in time (which I highly doubt), will you stop crying?"

Kira bobbed her head up and down and quickly wiped away her fake tears. "You believe me? Great! Now all we have to do is find Kuwabara and convince him too!"

Yusuke put a hand on her head to keep her from sprinting off. "Kuwabara? You can't be serious. He's in a," he said the next part very sloth-like for emphasis, "mental hospital. You know, the place where they put crazy people which I'm starting to suspect you escaped from."

"Oh, Yusuke. You still say the funniest things!" She gave him another quick hug. "But I am telling you the truth so let's go visit Kuwabara!"

"I don't think they just let you visit patients there." Yusuke said wishing that she wouldn't give him another hug incase it made him gag.

"You're right, we should bring his sister with us." Kira said considerately. "I'm with her they'd let us see him."

Yusuke eyed her oddly. "You know his sister?"

"Not really, but now is as good of a time as ever to meet her." Kira replied cheerily.

…

"Are you positive this is his place?"

"Yes, quit asking Yusuke." Kira knocked on the door with a disgruntled Yusuke at her side.

Yusuke sighed heavily, he was now starting to wish he had never even got up this morning. If he hadn't gotten up he wouldn't have met this girl who kept on insisting that they were friends. He couldn't even imagine himself associating with someone like Kuwabara. Sure, he had roughed the guy up a few times, but he would never want to be friends with someone like that. At least when this was over the girl, he didn't remember what she said her name was, would hopefully leave him alone and quit pestering him about this 'friend' nonsense she was spewing from her mouth.

They were standing outside a pretty small house with two floors. It blended in with the rest of the houses on the street, but the reason Kira knew this was the house because she had only been here a million times with Yusuke and Kuwabara to play with the cat, Eikichi. That and there was a sign on the mailbox outside written in black ink in calligraphic kanji letters that read 'Kuwabara Residence'.

"What are you, psychic?"

"Maybe," Kira mumbled under her breath while shifting her eyes.

She was about to knock on the door again when a tall woman with tawny hair opened it with a cigarette in her mouth. "Can I help you?" She looked at the teenagers quizzically, yet in a laid back way at the same time.

"Wait, don't tell…" Kira said rubbing her temples trying to recall what the girl's name was. "I got it!" She snapped her fingers enthusiastically. "Shizuru, that's it. Yeah?"

Shizuru took the cigarette out of her mouth and exhaled a long cloud of smoke. "And you are…?"

"Kira Kamiyama, I'm a friend of your brothers and this is Yusuke Urameshi, he's a friend too."

"Kazuma has friends?" Shizuru seemed unconvinced.

"Yeah, he does." Kira said defensively. "Anyway, I…" she glimpsed at Yusuke, "I mean we…were wondering if who could visit Kuwabara. If it's okay with you that is."

"How come I've never seen you two before?" Shizuru asked tapping the end of her cigarette with her finger so some ash fell on the floor.

"It's a low key kind of friendship." Kira lied promptly, flashing an unsure grin at Shizuru. "I mean, he's in an asylum and that's a bit weird. We just want to visit him for a few minutes and we wanted to make sure that you were okay with that because he's your brother."

Shizuru looked back and froth between the two teenagers in front of her house before flicking her cigarette on the floor and grinding it under her heel. Kira could just tell by glancing at Shizuru that she was thinking if she could trust them or not. Kira had her fingers crossed behind her back for luck.

Shizuru rubbed the back of her neck. "Why not? I'll give you two a need there."

"Thank you." Kira bowed before nudging Yusuke in the gut. "What do you say to the nice lady?" She hissed.

A stunned Yusuke bowed slightly too. "Thanks."

…

"Here you two are. Now get out of my car." Shizuru said pulling up in front of the hospital.

Kira eagerly jumped out after thanking her for the thousandth time while Yusuke remained seated. "You know she's off her rocker, don't you?" Yusuke mentioned with a fleeting look at Kira.

"Seems that way, but I got a feeling you should trust her."

"Really?"

"Yep, something inside of me is telling me that she's being honest." Shizuru said lighting up another cigarette and rolling down her car windows.

Yusuke shook his head as he got out of the car and watched wistfully as Shizuru sped away.

Kira grabbed Yusuke by the arm and pulled him up the front steps of the hospital. "C'mon, c'mon."

"Yeah, yeah…"

It took some convincing at the front desk that they were friends of Kuwabara and that his sister had said that they were allowed to see him. Kira worked her charm on the receptionist and the doubtful doctors about how much she and Yusuke missed Kuwabara and how much it would mean to them to see him again. Finally, after ten minutes of Kira's acting and Yusuke brooding five feet away from her they were given the green light to see him. A weary doctor took them to the fifth floor via the elevator and guided them down a brightly lit hallway to the room Kuwabara was in. He unlocked the door and ushered them in.

"He's easily panicked so don't, you know, startle him." The doctor said before closing the door behind them.

"Wouldn't dream of it…" Yusuke grumbled.

Kuwabara was sitting on his bed wearing white hospital clothes consisting of pants and a long sleeve t-shirt with a plastic white band around his wrist that hospital patients often had that stated the patient's name.

"Hi Kuwabara." Kira waved at him.

Kuwabara put his finger to his lips. "Shhh…the ghosts will hear you. They hear everything."

"Ghosts?" Yusuke arched an eyebrow.

"Relax, it's just your sixth sense Kuwabara. It's perfectly normal, I mean abnormal, get it? Ha, I crack myself up." Kira said holding back a chuckle.

"Really?" Kuwabara said rocking his body back and forth. "The doctors are trying to tell me that the voices I hear and the things I see aren't real."

"They are." Kira assured him.

"He's totally tweaked." Yusuke said.

Kira grinded her heel into Yusuke's foot. "You're not helping." She said in a quiet voice spitefully.

"You mean that raccoon ghost and that crazy old lady chasing me with the butcher knife are real?"

"Completely real though not corporeal so they can't cause you any bodily harm." Kira beamed.

"But the doctors say it's all in my head."

"It's not." Kira said putting her hands together. "You have a really powerful sixth sense and that's why you see and hear things other people can't. I have a sixth sense too as does Yusuke here."

"Don't drag me into your screwy story." Yusuke berated.

"But the doctors-"

Kira raised her hands to stop him. "Your doctors are overpaid idiots, that's what they are. You're perfectly sane, I guarantee you of that."

Kuwabara then abruptly hid under his bed. "They're back…the voices…"

Kira and Yusuke exchanged looks.

"So he's a little eccentric." Kira reasoned pulling Yusuke off to the side. "He's still our friend."

"You know what? I've had enough of you dragging me around." Yusuke said. "This has wasted my entire day going along with you, but frankly you're the one who needs mental help. I considered the thought that you might be telling me the truth, but this is getting ridiculous. Kuwabara's a nut case. There are no ghosts so stop trying to convince him that he's normal." Yusuke walked away from her and opened the door to the room. "Leave me alone, got it?"

"But Yusuke-"

SLAM!

"Ack! The raccoon ghost is back!"

"Aw, put a cork in it Kuwabara." Kira said as she went after Yusuke, but when she got in the hallway she didn't find Yusuke, but Kokuei with Sega.

"You found him!" Kira cried.

"What happened? Yusuke just stormed into the elevator." Kokuei said bewildered.

Kira shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I tried to remind him that we used to be friends with Kuwabara, but that plan backfired to bite me in the ass. Kuwabara is acting like a loony and Yusuke is a complete asshole. I guess if we don't fix things then it isn't meant to be."

"I should've told you that wouldn't work." Kokuei admitted guiltily. "We have to go back and ensure that the events that lead up to your guys friendship happens or else this is what your life is going to be."

Kira diverted her brown eyes down at Sega. "So kid, what's our first stop in time?"

"Making sure Yusuke dies." Sega said reaching out to hold her and Kokuei's hands. Instantaneously, the hourglass on Sega's forehead started glowing and a white light surrounded them.

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: That's the end of this 5500+ word and 8 page chapter. And now for some **important authoress news**:

I'm leaving for Mexico on 7/25 and will be back 7/29 then on 7/31 I'm leaving for the East Coast and I won't be back until 8/20, three days before school starts for me. So chapter updates will be random. Godspeed my fellow readers. Thanks for all the wonderful kick ass reviews!

NEXT CHAPTER: Dancing With Death

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	13. Dancing With Death

Dc-chan: Yay, another chapter. This will be the last one before I leave for three weeks so leave lots of reviews so I have something to look forward to when I get back from Hell (aka Cape Cod, MA and New Jersey) I hate humidity but no offense to anyone who lives there it's just I'm a California Bay Area weather type of girl.

MCT: That and you got sunburned when you went to Mexico.

Seraph: Your shoulders are peeling…ewe…

Dc-chan: At least I'm not the figment of some demented 16 year-old girl's imagination.

Seraph: Touché.

Disclaimer: Let's look at it this way, if I owned the sun I would beat the living shit out of it for giving me sunburns so…wait…that isn't a good analogy. Aw hell, you get the point.

And to answer one of my reviewer's questions: Yes, Kira is an OC. Also in this chapter, she demonstrates more of her psychic powers that she hasn't used before in this story. Well I'm assuming she has used them before, but I haven't written about it so yeah…I'm shutting up now.

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 13 of Define 'Normal'

Dancing With Death

Traveling through time was a strange sensation. Kira hadn't noticed before how odd it felt because she had been too shocked to realize what was going on at the time. But now that she was aware of what was occurring she was surprised to find the experience was rather pleasant. There were numerous orbs of white light swirling around her and the feeling of hovering above the ground made her seem weightless. It was unreal and a total rush.

However, all good things must come to an end and soon she found herself standing next to disgruntled Kokuei and Sega on a sidewalk.

She sighed in despair. _I can't wait to do that again._

"Are you alright?" Kokuei asked noticing her dazed expression.

"Hmm? What?" Kira blinked three times, the feeling of euphoria slipping away from her. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good." Kokuei said. "Sometimes time travel can be…disorienting."

"It sounds like you've done it before then?" She mused lightly. "Am I right?"

He scowled darkly at her. "That's none of your business."

"Don't forget why we're here." Sega said in a mature voice. He didn't want them to get distracted by a petty childish squabble.

"Yes, sir!" Kira said sternly, standing up straight and performing a mock salute. "Our mission objective is to make sure Yusuke gets hit by a car."

"You sound almost cheery about it…" Kokuei pointed out, eyeing her carefully.

Kira shrugged. "It's not everyday that I have to make sure one of my friends dies. Better to be optimistic than pessimistic, ne?" She glanced at Sega. "So where to?"

"Yusuke should be here soon," Sega replied, "because it's almost time for it to happen."

"Right." Kira nodded while looking around. She put her hand over her brows like a visor to shield her eyes from the sun. "I think I see him down the street. Oh, that's so cute! He's making faces for this little pipsqueak with a soccer ball." She looked back at her two companions. "Shall we?"

They walked down the street slowly, keeping a close eye on Yusuke and the little boy. Once they got close enough Kokuei leaned against a streetlight pole, Sega remained out of sight because he obviously didn't look human and Kira hid behind a mailbox so they wouldn't be conspicuous. It had been a mutual agreement that they had to be secretive about this and not attract too much attention to themselves for fear they would alter the past a little too much or do something they weren't supposed to do.

"Why are you hiding behind a mailbox?" Kokuei inquired peering over at Kira who was currently hunched down behind one.

She put her finger to her lips and shushed him. "I'm being discreet."

"How can you be discreet when you can't see what's going on?"

Kira drummed her fingers against the side of her face. "Fair point." She put her hands on the top edge of the mailbox and peeked out over it just enough that the top of her head and eyes were looking out over it.

"Yeah, that's much better. Now you look like a spying loon."

She glared at him from the corners of her brown eyes. "Oh, shut it." She stood upright with her hands on her hips. "You don't have to be mean about it, you know."

He put a hand up to silence her as he looked over his shoulder at Yusuke who was about twenty feet away from him. "It's about to happen."

Kira went over to Kokuei and followed his gaze down the street.

Yusuke was standing there watching the little brown haired boy walk out into the middle of the street about his ball.

"Move you idiot." Kira whispered under her breath.

"Something's wrong." Kokuei squinted his eyes. "Look at him, it's like something is holding him back."

Yusuke's forehead was sweating and his body was twitching like he was trying to move forward but couldn't.

"C'mon Yusuke." Kira urged quietly. She heard the car coming fast down the street and clenched her fists. He had to save that kid. He had too, but why wasn't he moving to do so? She bit her bottom lip. _C'mon. C'mon Yusuke. You have to do it._ When it became apparent to her that he wasn't going to she made a move forward only to be held back by Kokuei.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He growled into her ear.

"I'm gonna push his ass into the street, what do you think I'm gonna do?" Kira retorted fiercely struggling to break free.

"You can't do that! It has to be of his own free will!"

"Why?"

"That's just the way it has to be!"

"But he's not moving!"

Kokuei grabbed her shoulders. "Look closely at him, something or someone is holding him back."

Kira was ready to sock Kokuei in the face. She seethed silently as she returned her focus to Yusuke. It appeared he was trying to move, but was being restrained. Kokuei was right. Kira concentrated until a black figure behind Yusuke slowly materialized in her vision. It was blurred, but there was no mistaking it that it was wearing a black cloak.

"It's one of them." Kira muttered. "He's forcing Yusuke to just stand there."

"Zetsubou." Kokuei grumbled. "Anyway," he continued releasing Kira, "it's too late to do anything. The car has gone by. The boy only has a few scratches."

"Do we get another chance?" Kira asked putting a hand on her hip. "Because I have an idea."

"Yeah?" He arched an eyebrow curiously.

"Yep." She signaled for Sega to come over to them. "We're going to need to go back a little further this time though, we need to take care of Zetsubou." Kira grinned smugly at Kokuei. "However, it will only work if I have your full cooperation. I doubt I can bet that guy by myself."

"Why do I have a bad feeling that this plan of yours is going to be unorthodox?"

Kira put a hand on Sega's shoulder, still smiling. "Because I'm quite the unorthodox person."

…

"I knew I wasn't going to like this."

"Quit complaining." Kira scolded happily as she put on a pair of black sunglasses. "This is going to be fun."

Both were wearing black CIA like suits with the black jacket over the white t-shirt and black pants. Kira continued smiling as she handed Kokuei a pair of sunglasses like hers. She had quickly explained to him about this movie called Men In Black where they wore similar suits and dealt with aliens and such. Kokuei had stared blankly at her while she explained while wondering what was going on in the inside of her head. After she had finished he hadn't agreed to it because she still hadn't clarified the point of why they were dressed up this way, but she promised to tell him once he was dressed.

Kokuei grimaced as he straightened his tie. "There is a point to this I'm assuming."

"Like I said, Men In Black. They dealt with aliens and stuff, this is related to that."

"So you're saying that instead of being like a super secret branch of the government that works with aliens we're pretending to be a super secret branch of the government that fights youkai."

"Basically."

He gaped at her. "Where in your crazy head do your ideas make sense?"

"Hey, don't start this now." She quipped. "We need to find Yusuke." She pulled back her sleeve and looked at her watch. "We only have forty-five minutes before he's supposed to die so we need to take care of Zetsubou who's probably following him around until that happens."

"But why are we wearing these clothes?"

"Because idiot, he can't know who we are." Kira pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"I could just modify his memory after we take care of Zetsubou." Kokuei said folding his arms across his chest.

"Really?" Kira seemed to be at a loss of words for a few moments before patting Kokuei on the back. "Well…at least we look cool, ne?" She then grabbed his arm. "C'mon now, we got ourselves a youkai to kick in the ass."

He said nothing as she pulled him along the street, lucky for them that hardly anyone was out so they didn't garner as much awkward stares as he anticipated.

They found Yusuke walking through a park close to where the incident was going to happen. It was then that both Kokuei and Kira could see a shadow looming behind him which was obviously Zetsubou. Zetsubou was still invisible but now his image was a lot clearer and more defined to Kira.

"Ready to beat the living shit out of Zetsubou?" Kira nudged Kokuei as they waited for Yusuke to get closer.

"What do we do about Yusuke? I highly doubt he's just going to stand by and watch this."

Kira clicked her tongue. "That's true…I guess we'll just have to knock him out."

"But-"

"Hush!" She interrupted. "Here he comes. You knock him out."

"Why me? He's your friend!"

"I can't live with knowing that I knocked him out on my conscience."

"Oh really?"

"Fine, I could live if I did that, but he's my friend so you have to do it."

Kokuei shook his head and ran a hand through his hair before moving so fast, like a blur, behind Yusuke and hit him over the head. Yusuke fell on the ground out cold.

"There, happy?" Kokuei said putting both hands on his hips and looking at Kira.

"Very." Kira said in a sarcastic voice. She walked over next to him. "And now to deal with the bastard." Her eyes darted around the trees surrounding them. "Maybe our intervention scare him off?"

"Highly unlikely." A cold voice sounded behind her.

Before Kira could whirl around, Zetsubou hit her so hard that she went careening into a tree. Kira slid down the tree trunk onto the ground where she pushed herself up and glowered at him.

"I should have estimated this." Zetsubou said coldly. "Not going to give up your friends without a fight, are you?"

Even though Kira couldn't see his face she knew he was sneering under that hood of his which shadowed his entire face.

Kira wiped a bit of blood from her bottom lip. "Damn straight, asshole."

Kokuei gathered a dark energy ball in his hand and aimed it at Zetsubou. "Bakuha no Kumori!" A black jet of energy blasted forth from the palm of his hand and hit Zetsubou right in the stomach sending him backward and skidding along the ground.

Zetsubou slowly got up and shook the attack off. "You must be able to do better than that."

Kira glared at him and her eyes flashed dangerously. If it weren't for the stupid golden seal on her hand she wouldn't hesitate going demon on him an ripping him apart, but she could only use her psychic powers which were pathetic in comparison to Genkai's but better than most. She raised one of her hands, her palm facing Zetsubou, she let her psychic energy gather in her hand which made a tingly feeling run up and down her arm. Suddenly, like a rush of wind, the invisible energy shot forward like a rocket and wrapped around Zetsubou, raising him up in the air until he was almost fifty feet off the ground. Then, with a slight flick of her wrist he was sent plummeting to the ground and his impact shook the ground around her. She put her arm at her side and slightly smiled at the huge crater he had made.

Kokuei's eyes widened in surprise at what she had done. He had known she was a psychic but he didn't know she was capable of THAT. Such destructive power proved she indeed was Genkai's granddaughter. He shifted his gaze from the crater to her in awe.

She noticed him staring at her and she winked playfully in return. "Didn't know I could do that, did you?"

When the dust from that had risen from the earth from the impact had cleared Kira and Kokuei peered into the crater with interest, hoping to see Zetsubou's crumpled form laying in it.

There he was, laying there unmoving. His black cloak rippled in a soft breeze that blew by.

Suddenly, there was a loud screeching sound.

Kira covered her ears. "What the hell?"

Zetsubou's body started twisting and contorting until it exploded into small black orbs that slowly faded away. The screeching sound immediately stopped afterward.

"Eh?" Kira closed for eyes than reopened them in disbelief. "What was that?"

"A part of him dying." Kokuei explained rubbing the back of his neck. "You see, in order to for him to be able to interfere with you and your friend's pasts he split himself into five parts. A part of him dies once it's too injured to move, like here, or is completely deplete of spirit energy. Once we fix the past he should be generally easy to defeat back in the present."

"And you waited till now to tell me this?" Kira sounded offended. Where was the trust? "I was expecting to go back and have an epic battle with him."

Yusuke stirred. "What happened?" He sat up and raised his brows at Kira and Kokuei. "Who are you?"

"Eh…um…" Kira exchanged a glance with Kokuei. "We're…" She pushed Kokuei forward. "Modify his memory already!"

Kokuei grunted as he knelt beside a bewildered Yusuke. He put his hand on Yusuke's forehead which began glowing instantly. Yusuke's eyes rolled up into his until the white of his eyes were showing and he fell back on the ground, his eyes closed. Kokuei then stood up after a minute and went back over to Kira. "There, it's all modified. He'll wake up in about five minutes. Just in time for you-know-what."

Kira tilted her head to one side and smiled cutely. "Good."

…

Kira sat next to Kokuei (in their regular clothes now) and Sega on the top of a high wall that was next to the sidewalk that overlooked the street as an ambulance came racing down the street. It's siren's wailing loudly.

They watched for a while as the little brown haired boy was examined and as the paramedics declared Yusuke dead. They put his body on a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance he went.

Kira held back a laugh as Yusuke's ghost was spazzing out next to Botan was sweat dropping. At least this part of the past was fixed now. It had been difficult for her to watch Yusuke's death, but she wanted to make sure there was no more interference in the way things were supposed to be though Yusuke had told her that his death had been unexpected. Kira was convinced by now that Yusuke had been meant to die, but he would be back soon anyway so it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would've.

"Ready to continue?" Kokuei asked.

Kira put her hands in her lap. "I guess. Do I have to watch any of my other friends die?" She meant it as a joke, but her tone was not in anyway lighthearted. "Who's next? Kuwabara?"

"That's for latter. You have to deal with Hiei before you deal with Kuwabara. We're going back in order that Zetsubou tampered with the past: Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, Kurama then…you."

Kira exhaled heavily as she watched Botan ferry Yusuke up towards the clouds. "Do I have to 'save' Hiei? He doesn't even like me and I don't consider him a friend."

"The only way he and Kurama are going to meet is if you do. If they don't meet then they never join with Yusuke. Does that answer your question? Or are you willing to lose Kurama just because you don't like Hiei?"

"She wouldn't," Sega chimed in. "She likes Kurama."

"Yeah, yeah." Kira muttered bitterly. "Let's just go deal with Hiei and whatever happened to him before I rethink this."

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Yeah, I was listening to that Mai Ai Hee song while I was writing this. That's why it's so weird.

MCT: Maybe it's weird because you're weird.

Seraph: -snickers-

Dc-chan: I'm sad cuz I'm leaving tonight so I needed to listen to some cheer up music. Bye, bye computer of mine. -hugs computer and cries- Leave lots of lovely reviews so I have something to look forward to!

Funny story: When I was cleaning my hamster's cage today (cuz I'm leaving for 3 weeks) I put her in her hamster ball then went to get her cage stuff from the basement. I accidentily left the basement door wide open and the next thing I hear is thump, thump, thump. SHE WENT DOWN THE BASEMENT STAIRS! I ran over and looked down the stairs to see her not moving in her hamster ball, I almost started crying until I saw her start walking around again. She wasn't even injured after going down twenty steps in her hamster ball! I swear that my hamster is immortal or something. I gave her lots of cranberries and peanut butter to make up for my stupidity. And that's my story. o.O;;

NEXT CHAPTER: The Missing Eye

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	14. The Missing Eye

Dc-chan: Ohhhh…chocolate Oo -ahem- I'm back from my 'vacation'. The ten days I spent in Cape Cod were really cool cuz the weather was so nice, but in New Jersey I wanted someone to shoot me plus my grandma is crazy (and not in a good way). School has started too…which sucks.

MCT: Bah. School is for the weak minded. I never went to school and look how awesome I am.

Dc-chan: It's obvious you never went to school…

MCT: What do you mean by that?

Dc-chan: …nothing…XD

Disclaimer: Do I own a car? No. Do I own a mansion? No. Do I own YYH? No.

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 14 of Define 'Normal'

The Missing Eye

Kira blinked. She knew instantly where they were by the color of the sky. The bright crimson sky was suited for this place because it was the same color as blood. She'd been here only once before, but being there once was enough to recognize it again.

They were in Makai, the realm of demons.

"Figures this would be here." Kira said rolling her eyes. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as an unpleasant breeze blew by. "The last time I was here was to retrieve your journal from your father…" Kira trailed off when she noticed Kokuei was giving her a 'don't go there' look.

"That was awhile ago." He said dryly. "We're here now for a different reason entirely."

Kira nodded. "Right." She shuffled her feet. "So…what part of Hiei's past are we gonna be meddling in…I mean fixing."

"You know about his Jaganshi, correct?"

Kira gave him a blank stare.

Kokuei sighed heavily and ran his hand down his face. "His third eye."

"Oh, that thing. I just didn't know what it was called." She slapped her forehead.

"Yeah, whatever." Kokuei shook his head. "You see, Hiei got his third eye to find his sister, Yukina. He needs to obtain that eye or certain events that would have lead him to meeting you guys would have never occurred. Are you following this?"

"Of course. Hiei got his third eye to find Yukina, but if he didn't get it then we wouldn't know each other therefore I wouldn't hate his guts and vice versa." Kira retorted somewhat bitterly. She then smiled softly. "But it's so sweet that he got his Jaganshi to find his sister."

"Yes, especially considering the surgery is extremely painful." Kokuei said. He then turned to Sega. "You stay here, we can't afford to have anything to happen to you."

Sega bowed his head. "I will not move."

"Wouldn't he be safer with us?" Kira asked raising an eyebrow.

"He would be in a lot more danger with us especially since you attract trouble like moths to a flame." Kokuei explained ignoring Kira's protests.

"I do not attract trouble!" She stomped her foot on the ground.

"C'mon, we have to find him before Zetsubou gets to him." Kokuei said walking forward into a brush of trees in front of them without waiting for Kira.

Kira quickly glanced at Sega before hastily following Kokuei with her arms at her sides. The second she walked into the forest she knew Kokuei was nowhere around. Like he had suddenly abandoned her.

She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Kokuei?" Kira yelled. There was no answer. Usually she wouldn't think too much into it, but this was Makai. Anything could happen here, usually bad things. "Kokuei? This isn't funny!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. No reply again. Just the soft rustling of branches being blown by the wind.

Suddenly a sharp object hit her in the back knocking her forward onto the ground.

"Okay, who did that?" Kira snarled, whipping her head around and standing up.

Three ugly demons were standing there, one had a sword in his hand. It was clear from their attire that they were some type of demon bandits.

"So, you're the wise guy, ne?" Kira growled staring down the demon with the sword.

The demon lifted his sword and pointed it at her. "Couldn't help it, we rarely see a human wandering in Makai. I bet you taste good."

Kira fidgeted at the thought of being eaten by disgusting demons such as these. "Eww…that's super gross! Why can't you guys just eat cow or fish like normal people?"

"Human flesh tastes better." He answered smiling evilly at her.

"Well," Kira huffed irritably, "this is one meal you're gonna hafta work for buddies."

"I don't think we'll have any trouble killing you." He smirked then a split second later all three of the demons were attacking her from all sides.

Kira dodged and maneuvered around them easily. Low class demons like these hardly posed a threat to her. Once you've sparred with Yusuke and Kurama, any fighter at a lower level then them hardly seemed to be a challenge. To her, it was like fighting in slow motion. She could see all the attacks coming at her without effort, but she had trouble hiding the fact at how amused she was with their feeble attempt, she even began grinning.

Finally, having decided she'd toyed with them enough she batted all three of them away in one round house kick. Each one of them hit a separate tree before falling to the ground, badly bruised and unconscious.

"Next time you guys want to pick a fight, make sure you're not so weak." She berated while shaking her index finger at them. "Losers." Kira muttered.

"That was impressive."

Kira blinked. That voice…she whirled around so fast she almost lost her balance.

"A human beating up a pack of youkai is something you don't see everyday."

Kira looked around frantically. She recognized that voice, but where was it coming from?

She felt a stick hit her in the head which made her look up angrily. "Hey! Who the hell threw that?"

There, on a tree branch twenty feet above her head, stood Hiei with his black cloak on and his hair still as gravity defying as ever.

"Hiei!" She said excitedly before remembering that he had no idea who she was. "I mean, it's not cool to throw sticks at people jerk!" She might as well insult him because he wasn't going to recall their encounter after Kokuei modified his memory.

"Hn. How do you know my name?" He asked icily, giving her a curious stare that was still filled with malice.

"Magic," she said sarcastically.

He unsheathed his blade menacingly. "I think you're lying."

Kira took a step back and raised up her hands. She sweatdropped as he jumped down from the tree. "There's no need to get violent…" She gulped as he took another step towards her.

Hiei smirked and unfortunately for Kira, she recognized _that_ kind of smirk. It was the 'I'm about to kick your ass' smirk 'and you don't even know it's coming'.

"I think you better start explaining yourself." He said threateningly.

She sighed, "Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I did."

"Then…" he lifted his blade so it was inches from her face, "…DIE!"

Kira moved out of the way just as he lunged with his sword at her. He attacked again and Kira found it immensely hard to dodge his slashes, they were moving almost too quickly for her to see which frightened her.

Kira tightened her fist in resolve. _Fine, if he wants to play this way then I'll show him what I can do!_ She grabbed his wrist just as he moved past her and using momentum, she flung him backwards so he skidded along the ground.

Hiei got up on one knee frowning. "You're quite surprising for a human."

"Is that a compliment?" She mocked. _He doesn't know that I'm ¼ youkai…_

Hiei stood up, his crimson eyes flashing in rage. He gripped his sword's handle and gritted his teeth. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into." In a flash of movement he disappeared and came up behind her, hitting her in the back with his blade's sheath as if he was just toying and humiliating her.

She gasped as pain shot through her back and she doubled over so she was looking at Hiei's feet. Kira rolled out of the way just as Hiei was about to finish her off. She pushed herself onto her feet, dong her best to ignore how much her back hurt.

Hiei merely grunted as he swung his blade around near her head, she ducked to avoid being decapitated by him.

She had Hiei were so busy fighting that neither of them noticed the necklace around Kira's neck beginning to glow a dark shade of blue.

The fight between them got fiercer and fiercer as Kira punched Hiei in the stomach to which he responded with narrowly missing stabbing her abdomen, but she still got a scratch along her side from the blade which blood was slowly trickling out of now.

Suddenly, a blast of energy shot between the two of them sending them both flying in opposite directions and landing roughly on the ground.

"Whaaa?" Kira looked around in a daze wondering where the energy blast could've possibly come from. She saw Kokuei kneeling over an unconscious Hiei with his hand on his Hiei's forehead, modifying his memories. "You came back!"

"I went to look for Zetsubou." He replied taking his hand of Hiei's forehead and directing his eyes at Kira. "I shouldn't have been in such a rush though, she almost got seriously hurt."

"Oh, don't worry!" Kira covered the cut on her side with her hand. "I'm fine, it's only a mere flesh wound. Nothing that would've killed me." She then cocked an eyebrow. "How'd you know where to find me?"

Kokuei pointed at the necklace around her neck. "Didn't I explain to you that whenever you're in danger that thing glows and alerts me."

"Oh yeah…" she rubbed the back of her neck, "must've slipped my mind…"

"Must've." He agreed curtly.

"So, at least this is settled." Kira chirped happily. "And I've learned that no matter what, Hiei will always hate me, but I'm glad that's over."

Kokuei narrowed his eyes. "Not quite, Zetsubou's around here somewhere…calculating, waiting to make his move."

"For real?" Kira clenched her fists as a nervous feeling aroused in the pit of her stomach.

"Perceptive little punks, aren't you?"

Kira folded her arms across her chest. "I know who's voice that belongs too…give you three guesses."

Just then, Kokuei grabbed Kira's hand and pulled her towards him. He stood in front of her protectively as Zetsubou materialized in front of them.

"Trying to foil me again?"

"Can you take him?" Kira inquired.

"You don't even have to ask." Kokuei said confidently. "Remember that these are just parts of Zetsubou so their not nearly as powerful as he is when he's all together."

"Right." Kira nodded even though she hadn't paid attention to a word Kokuei had just said.

Zetsubou snickered darkly as the forest around them suddenly darkened immensely as if it had just turned to a very, very dark night.

"Behold the power of darkness."

"More like the power of lameness…" Kira commented.

"You joke now, but wait, darkness holds true power! You won't be so impudent once I spend you to oblivion!" Dark creatures began pooling around Zetsubou, rising from the ground. The creatures had long antennae and yellow holes where their eyes should be. (**Dc-chan**: They look like the Neo Heartless)

"Eh? What are those things?" Kira sounded surprised.

"Just weak creatures from the shadows," Kokuei explained. He gathered a dark energy ball in his hand and began throwing energy balls one after the other at the creatures, however, they didn't die as he intended them too, they grew bigger each time they got hit.

"You can't destroy them by those means." Zetsubou mused.

"Stop!" Kira nudged Kokuei. "You're just making them bigger!"

"Why?"

"I think I get it…" Kira started, pausing to take a breathe before continuing, "you're the Sage of Shadows, right? And these creatures come from the shadows so it makes sense that that's where they get their power from. I propose you let me handle these things since my powers aren't…you know…dark."

Kokuei stepped aside, "Fine, do what you want."

Kira took her position in front of him and glanced down at her necklace. "Let's hope this works…" She lifted both of her hands so that they were on either side of her necklace. _Relax, breath and concentrate…_she told herself as began gathering spiritual energy. Kira closed her eyes and concentrated hard on the energy she was building up.

"Hurry up!" Kokuei shouted. "They're getting closer!"

Kira's eyes snapped open as her necklace emitted a faint white light. "I know you're gonna help me with this one Hikaru…" she whispered to herself. The light between her hands felt warm, like a pleasant tingly feeling. "Hikari! Hakkei!" (Light! Release internal power!) She yelled. The light from the necklace swiftly blasted forth, blinding Kira and Kokuei who had to shield their eyes. Once the light dimmed down they both lowered their forearms to see what had happened.

To Kokuei's amazement the shadow creatures were gone as was Zetsubou. He couldn't feel his eerie presence anywhere. Kira's attack must have destroyed him as well.

"So," Kira smiled happily, although feeling a little woozy from using up so much of her energy. "How do you like them apples?"

Kokuei's eyes widened, "Amazing…"

Kira looked at her nails as if pretending to be modest, but she was really gloating. "People always underestimate what I can do. I can't wait to tell Kurama that I used the necklace and summoned the power I wanted to. I can't believe I-"

"We shouldn't delay." He gestured to Hiei who was starting to stir. "We have to leave, now."

Kira drooped her head a bit, "Okay…fine."

They both began walking back to where Sega was waiting for them, the walk took surprising a few hours, it was then Kira realized how far into the forest they had actually went. Kira and Kokuei were both silent as they approached the Guardian of Time.

"Hiei's probably on his way to see Shigure to get the Jaganshi implanted." Kira said.

"How do you know?" Sega asked.

"Just a feeling," Kira responded quietly. "How many times do I have to remind everyone: I'm a psychic!"

"We should probably wait to make sure." Kokuei mentioned leaning against a trunk of a tree on the outskirts of the forest.

"How will we be able to make sure?" Kira speculated while putting a hand on her hip.

"Trust me," Kokuei said, "you'll know."

…

"YUUKINAAAAAAAAA!"

"I take it that's our cue to leave." Kira said dusting off her pants as she stood up. She had been sitting with Sega and Kokuei for what was probably an additional two hours. She looked over her shoulder towards the forest sadly. She couldn't help, but feel for Hiei. After all, he was going through an extremely painful surgery all for his sister. It was cute in an odd Hiei-ish way, she defiantly had trouble imagining him being a caring older brother, but at the same time it seemed to suit him.

"Yeah, let's get out of here before something attacks us."

"Kuwabara, next?" Kira pretended to sound thrilled.

"Uh-huh."

"Wonderful. Let's get out of here."

They both turned towards Sega who was already ready and holding out both his hands for them to hold. "Ready?" The small guardian inquired, his eyes already gleaming a light blue.

"Of course." Kira said taking his hand.

Sega turned his head towards Kokuei. "And you?"

Kokuei thought for a second which confused Kira, but she quickly forgot about it once he took Sega's other hand. Then the three of them vanished from Makai in a flash of whirling lights.

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Well, that's done.

MCT: Took you long enough.

Seraph: Seriously, you've been back home for how many days?

Dc-chan: …11...shut up!

Now, as a special gift to everyone…Here's another OMAKE! WHOOOT!

--OMAKE THEATRE 2-- (it's more like a quick little side story actually…)

**WHO'S COOLER? KUWABARA VS. HIEI! ROUND 1, FIGHT!**

"I'm assuming there's a point to this little gathering." Yusuke said in a bored tone as he sat on the bed in Kuwabara's room next to Kira who was in-between Yusuke and Kurama.

"Yeah, why are we here?" Kira moaned as Kuwabara fiddled with his TV and VCR.

"I'm going to prove once and for all that I'm so much cooler than that shrimp, Hiei!" Kuwabara stated as he inserted a tape into the VCR. "I made this tape to prove that and so then I can finally get the respect I deserve from you guys."

"But Kuwabara," Kurama said, "we do respect you."

"You mean we respect his ability to act like an idiot and panic." Yusuke pointed out which made Kira snort in laughter.

"You see!" Kuwabara pointed at Yusuke and Kira while he stared at Kurama. "This is what I'm talking about!"

"I'm sure they don't mean anything by it, they're just joking around." Kurama tried to reason.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see who's laughing in a couple of minutes…" Kuwabara grumbled as he took the remote and sat on the floor about three feet away from the TV. "Now watch!" He ordered as he pressed the play button.

_The screen crackled a little bit, but it soon cleared up and an image of Kuwabara looking into the camera appeared on TV._

_"Is it on?" Kuwabara asked tapping the screen._

_"Yes, I think so…"_

_"Okay, good!" Kuwabara then took a few steps back and put his hands on his hips. "This tape is going to be living proof that I'm not only cooler than Hiei, but I'm totally…eh…that I'm cooler than Hiei!"_

_"You just said that…"_

"Who's filming?" Kira asked holding back a laugh.

"A friend of mine." Kuwabara grunted in annoyance. "Now keep watching!"

"_Just keep taping and follow me!" Kuwabara beckoned his friend with the camera. They walked down a street and just as Kuwabara was about to turn a corner he tripped over a crack on the sidewalk, falling flat on his face._

"Smooth." Yusuke commented.

"ACK!" Kuwabara shouted. "I thought he edited that out!"

"Looks like he didn't." Kira giggled.

_When Kuwabara recovered from the fall he faced the camera. "Cut that out of the tape, okay?"_

_"Sure thing, Kuwabara."_

_They continued walking, the camera bobbing up and down with each step the cameraman took._

_"So, how are we gonna prove how cool you are?"_

_"We're going to…Oh! Kitty!" Kuwabara said abruptly running over to a small little tawny cat. He picked it up. "It's so cute!"_

Yusuke held back a laugh.

Kira bit the inside of her cheek and put a hand over her mouth to suppress the upcoming giggles.

Kurama sweatdropped. He couldn't help, but have a feeling that this video was going to embarrass Kuwabara more than make him seem cooler.

Kuwabara's jaw dropped as he put his hands on the sides of his head. "He was supposed to edit that out too!" He then quickly pressed the stop button on the remote with a flushed face.

"Hey," Kira complained loudly. "We wanted to see the rest of it!"

"I agree, it seemed so promising. When you found that kitty I really thought you were an awesome guy." Yusuke said sarcastically.

Kuwabara hastily ejected the tape from the VCR while sweating bullets. "The tape's not done yet! Sorry!" He tucked it under his right arm and dashed out of the room.

"Who couldn't see that coming?" Kira rolled her eyes.

"Wanna steal that tape?" Yusuke suggested.

"Hell yeah, let's beat the crap outta him for it."

With that, the two of them ran out of the room to pursue Kuwabara leaving Kurama all alone who was staring at the ceiling.

"It's never a dull moment with these guys…" Kurama looked out of the window to Kira and Yusuke chasing Kuwabara who was frantically trying to get away as he ran around in circles. He saw Kira tackled Kuwabara onto the ground as Yusuke pried the video from his death grip on it.

"C'mon! Let it go! Kamiyama and me wanna see the rest!"

"No, it's not finished yet you guys!"

Kira twisted his arms behind his back. "If you're so much cooler than you'd let us watch it."

Kurama shook his head as he turned his attention away from the window once they all began shouting at the same time so their voices meshed together into one loud cacophony. "I should bring them inside before a neighbor calls the cops." Kurama sweatdropped as he left the room.

**The lesson is**: when you video tape yourself to prove how cool you are it always backfires!

--OMAKE THEATRE 2 END--

Dc-chan: Okay, until next time folks!

NEXT CHAPTER: Doorway To The Mind

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

p.s. I have outlines for chapters 15-21 so I should be able to write those quickly! Yay for me!


	15. Doorway To The Mind

DC-chan: ACK! I'm sorry this is so late, but…MY COMPUTER IS FINALLY FIXED! –happy dance- I'm ESTATIC!-if you couldn't tell… Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! They've really brightened the dark time when my computer was out (I used my school's computer)

Disclaimer: Please don't rain on my parade

Note: This chapter was inspired by the game, Psychonauts! Enjoy!

XXXXXX

Chapter 15 of Define 'Normal'

Doorway to the Mind

Kira looked around the room, hiding a smile. She knew exactly where they were…again. Though the room was dark now, she still recognized the piles of clothes on the floor, posters on the wall, and thecute kitty stuffed animal sitting on the wardrobe.

"Is this the right room?" Kokuei asked suspiciously,eyeing the grinning stuffed animal with a bit of disgust and confusion.

She nodded at him. "It definitely is. This isKuwabara's room, I've been in here plenty of times!"

"You have?" Kokuei arched an eyebrow with interest.

Kira looked at his face and instantly knew what he was thinking. She waved her hands frantically in front of herself while sweat dropping. "No, no, not like that. I'd never with Kuwabara! Get your mind outta the god damn gutter, will you?"

"Besides, she likes Kurama." Sega said quietly while rubbing his eyes. All this time traveling was making him tired.

"Will you stop it with that?" Kira said agitatedly as she made her way over to the bed where Kuwabara was sleeping soundly, however he was sprawled on the bed with his limbs hanging over the edges and drool coming out of the corner of his mouth. Her brown eyes widened when she got close enough to see a glowing rectangle on Kuwabara's forehead. "Nya? What's that?" She raised her right hand and aimed at the glowing rectangle with her index finger.

Kokuei blinked before reacting. "Wait! Don't touch-" He ran over to her and grabbed her other hand to pull her away, but it was too late…she had already poked Kuwabara's forehead.

Instantaneously, both Kira and Kokuei found themselves pulled into the small light.

Sega jumped in surprise when in the next second both of them were gone. "Kira? Kokuei?" He got a feeling that this couldn't be too good…

"WAAAAHHHHH!" Kira cried as she was falling down a dark tunnel. "What the hell is this?" She fell past some stuffed animals and butcher knives that were suspended in mid air. "What the hell are those things?"

Kokuei sighed. "You really should think before you do anything, now we're entering Kuwabara's mind because you didn't wait for me to explain to you that that glowing was actual an open pathway to your friend's mind!"

"You don't have to be a jerk about it!" She retorted angrily before inhaling sharply. "Anyway, isn't this where we wanted to be? After all, Kuwabara's problems are all in his head." Kira then looked below her. "Hey, I see the ground…wait, oh shi-"

WHAM! 

"Itaiiii…" Kira moaned a few seconds after her body hit the ground.

Kokuei pushed himself up with his hands and surveyed their surroundings. "We're either going insane ourselves or we're in some neo colored happy land."

"What do you mean, Kokuei?" Kira picked her head up and instantly got what he meant. It was like Alice in Wonderland, only much tripier. She thought her head was going to explode from so many bright colors and she had to squint her eyes to keep them from hurting. "Wait a minute, this is totally…"

"The inside of Kuwabara's head."

Kira glanced at Kokuei with her mouth open. "No way, I knew there was something wrong in his head, but I didn't really mean it literally."

Kokuei rolled his eyes at her naivete. "It's a mess like this in most people's minds. It's nothing unusual, yours is probably crazier."

"Hey!" She growled at him. "Quit being a jerk!" She shouted while pointing at him angrily. "My mind is just wonderful, thank you very much!"

Kokuei ignored her and continued talking. "I'm supposing now, that we need to protect Kuwabara's mind from Zetsubou's brainwashing. He's probably the one who drove Kuwabara to insanity, using his sixth sense against himself, quite a dirty trick." He started walking down the neon orange pathway in front of them that was lined with smiling kitty faces that would make any sane person throw up in disgust.

"Wait for me!" Kira said chasing after him. She grabbed onto the back of his jacket. "This place is weird, it's kind of scary."

"There's nothing to be frightened of, I'm here to protect you."

Kira's face changed into a rainbow of different shades of reds and pinks. She felt embarrassed by what he had said reminded her of something that Kurama might say if she was freaked out (which hardly ever happened). She couldn't help feeling lightheaded and she felt as if there were butterflies in her stomach. She didn't want to feel this way about Kokuei. Kira suddenly wished that she was with Kurama instead, at least she would feel free to yell at him, to make fun of him, to laugh with him…_Kurama, I miss you._

"Are you feeling alright?" Kokuei asked, noticing her silence.

Kira snapped out of her train of thought. "Huh? You say something?" She put her hands over her cheeks to hide her flustered face. "I think we should find Kuwabara!" She said quickly, changing the subject.

He arched his eyebrow before agreeing with her. "You're right, we need to find him…fast. Before my head explodes from all these disgustingly bright colors."

Kira looked away from him, her cheeks still red. "So, which way?" She asked scratching her head.

Both of them looked around the bizarre world they were now in. It was like something out of a twisted dream. In addition to the floating kitty head and neon colors there were tangled pathways that lead into every which way direction. Some went straight up then curved down, others were on their sides like walking on the side of a wall, some did multiple loops and others were just as curvy and winding like roller coasters. All of them seemed to lead to nowhere though because it was hard to see where they ended.

"How about this one?" Kira said pointing to a moderately straight one that was paved in yellow bricks. "It looks the safest and it reminds me a movie I watched when I was younger, The Wizard of Oz."

"What's that?"

"Oh, you know." Kira started to sing. "Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road. Follow, follow, follow, follow, and follow the yellow brick road…"she paused," or something like that. I always hated that movie, those damn flying monkeys…"

"Right. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I think it's a good idea to take this road as well." He gave her a weird look then started walking. "We won't find him if we stand still."

Kira ran after him. "Wait for meeeee!"

He sweatdropped. "Are you really fifteen?"

"Going on sixteen!" She smiled while pumping a fist into the air.

He lowered his eyelids as he watched her race ahead of him like an energetic five-year-old on a sugar high. The resemblance between her and Kokoro was so obvious. Not only did Kira resemble her, but also her personality was almost the same. Kokuei clenched his fists at his side and gritted his teeth, but refrained from saying anything to her.

Suddenly Kira pointed at a lone figure in the distance. "Look! I think that's him!" She tugged Kokuei along as she began running. "Hey! Kuwabara!" She yelled.

The figure in the distance became bigger as they neared it. It looked up at them curiously. Kira could see the family orange hair on the top of his head.

"I found him! Ten points for me!"

"Since when are you using points?"

"Because I say so! And you're already in the negative digits, better hurry up and earn some points or else you'll lose the game."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Kira skidded to a stop in front of Kuwabara who blinked stupidly at them.

"Hey, buddy!" Kira piped up. She slapped him on the shoulder. "What are you doing sitting on the ground?"

Kuwabara stood up with a familiar looking cat in his hands. "Why are you here? I've never seen you two before!"

"One moment please." Kira pulled Kokuei over to the side and whispered into his ear, "You find Zetsubou and I'll deal with the bit for brains."

"It would be safer if you both stay with-"

"Bye bye, Kokuei." Kira said pushing him down the path a bit before rushing back to Kuwabara.

Kokuei scowled in annoyance as he sulked down the path.

"Who are you?" Kuwabara asked, hugging the cat.

"It is of no importance, but I shall tell you anyway. I am Kira. I am awesome. That's all you are required to know."

"Why the hell are you here? That scary lady with the butcher knife will be back any second, you should leave!"

"Butcher knife? Old lady? Geez, this is bad…you really are losing it." She folded her arms across her chest and sighed. "I suppose I need to explain to you what a sixth sense is then."

"I know what that is, but that's not what I-"

She punched his arm. "Sit down and shut up!"

He immediately obeyed, trembling and rubbing his arm where she had hit him.

"Now," she straightened herself up, "a sixth sense is a power of perception seemingly independent of the five senses. In order words, those voices you hear, those things you see are…ghosts. You're not as crazy as you think you are Kuwabara…" she trailed off suddenly remembering that he wasn't going to remember any of this soon. "Actually, you know what. It doesn't matter."

"Why?"

"Because you're going to die." She smiled.

"WHAAAT!" He jumped up and the cat pounced out of his arms and ran away in fright.

"Haha, just kidding." She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "I like messing with you."

"That's not funny!" He shouted at her.

"On the contrary, I find it funny."

"That's not the point!" Kuwabara said clutching his head, but suddenly he flinched. Slowly, he picked his head up and stared over Kira's shoulder, his eyes getting as wide as saucers.

Kira tilted her head. "What's wrong?"

Kuwabara slowly lifted up his hand and pointed behind her.

Kira followed his finger and turned her head around. There, standing her was a stout woman with a huge bloody knife in her hand. Kira's face paled.

"Uh…hi?" She said weakly, forcing a smile.

The ghostly woman let out an aggravated scream and swung the knife at Kira.

Kira ducked and aimed a punch at the woman's brow however; she seemed to have forgotten that ghosts are transparent, so she fell through the ghost's cloudy form onto the brick path.

_That was smart…_Kira scolded herself. She got back onto her feet and quickly dodged another swing of the butcher knife by rolling out of the way and ended up next to Kuwabara.

"So, how do you deal with this crazy lady?" Kira asked.

"Like this." He said grabbing her wrist and sprinting so fast that there was a dust cloud behind them.

The ghost let out an agonized screech before disappearing.

"Whew, it's gone…" Kuwabara exhaled heavily as he came to a stop about 400 meters away.

"Coward!"

"WHAT?"

"You heard me!" Kira scoffed putting her hands on her hips and turning her face away from him.

"Argh! Take it back! I just saved your skin!"

Kira struck him on the head with her fist. "Idiot! Ghosts can't hurt you unless they're possessing someone!"

Kuwabara furrowed his eyebrows so they made a 'V'. "Well, in here they can!" He pulled back one of his sleeves to show her a long gash on his arm. "That psychopath _ghost_, or whatever you call it, did this to me! So don't tell me it can't hurt me!"

Kira ran her hand over her face, trying to calm down and not beat the living hell out of Kuwabara. But what if he was telling the truth and the ghost could hurt her? But it was transparent? It wasn't possible, or was it?

"I guess since this is your mind, I'll take your word for it." She admitted while biting the inside of her cheek. "And thanks…"

"You should be grateful. You're lucky I have an honor code."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She scrunched her nose. "Anyway, I guess you should avoid anymore weird stuff like that until Kokuei takes care of things."

"Kokuei? That guy from earlier you mean?" Kuwabara suddenly looked interested.

"Yeah." Kira nodded. "Why?"

Kuwabara lowered his head as if he was thinking really hard about something.

"What is it?" Kira pressed in a harsh tone.

He glanced back at her. "Didn't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" She shrugged, staring incredulously at him.

"That dark energy surrounding him…"

"Oh no. Not you too! What's with everyone hating on Kokuei! He's helping me! Helping us!" She said defensively. _I can't believe it. Even when they don't remember him they still hate him. _

"I just get a bad vibe from him, that's all."

"You only saw him for a few seconds." Kira pointed out.

"So? I have that sixth sense thing, don't I?" He reminded her. "Doesn't that mean I can _feel_ things that can't be seen?"

"I have a sixth sense too and mine tells me that there's nothing wrong with him." Kira seethed.

Kuwabara rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe your sixth sense is screwy, like something's messing it up. Maybe your feelings for him?"

Kira recoiled. Kuwabara had a terrible knack for unintentionally hitting the nail on the head. She didn't have those kinds of feelings for him that he was implying, or maybe she did. She didn't know now. She couldn't deny that she didn't feel anything for him, which would be lying to herself. There was a connection, but she couldn't explain it in words. Nobody could understand it; it was just there like a thorn in her side. But there was a different person who made the feelings for Kokuei seem like nothing…

_Kurama stared up at the ceiling in his room so he wouldn't be looking at Kira, afraid that his eyes might tell her the reason. "Maybe she was jealous of you…"_

_Kira stared at him deadpan. You could see the clueless ness written blatantly on her face."Jealous of me?"_

_He put his arms behind his head and leaned back on his bed, letting his legs hang over the edge. "You've got a lot of things going for you, you know?"_

_She 'phffted' at this. Why was he talking about now? This was probably going to turn out like those confusing conversations they had when they were younger. A discussion filled with hidden meanings on his part and unashamed bewilderment on hers. She decided to play along this time. "Like what?"_

_"You're smart, outspoken, funny, athletic, determined, a bit cynical and cute." He let the last part slip out._

_"Cute?" Kira blushed a deep shade of pink. He thinks I'm cute! She then put the pillow down and lowered her head, moping. Great, the very bane of my existence is cuteness. Perfect. She felt like being called cute was worse than him calling her K-chan. Especially when there wasn't anything remotely cute about herself…_

Kira shuffled her feet as she remembered that memory. It had made her uneasy afterward and she recalled running home with burning cheeks furiously. Later that day in her room, she had snuggled up against her pillow grinning ear to ear while thinking about him. She had had an unusual fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had experienced before, but only when she was nervous. The thought hadn't occurred to her until now that she felt much the same way about Kurama, but was more surreptitious about it.

"You know what Kuwabara?"

"Hm?"

"I do have feelings for him, but…I have stronger ones for someone else." Kira smiled softly and hugged herself. "When this is over, I think I'll tell him that."

"Uh…I'm not too good with girl feelings," Kuwabara stated, gazing oddly at her.

"Don't worry, you'll get more in tune with them once you meet Yukina."

"Yukina?" He asked questioningly.

"You'll see…" However she couldn't shake what Kuwabara had previously said from her mind.

**"Didn't you feel it? That dark energy surrounding him…"**

She rolled her lip over her bottom teeth. The fuzzy warm feeling was gone and now replaced with confusion and uneasiness. Kuwabara had always had the strongest sixth sense out of all of them. Perhaps…no, she couldn't think that way about Kokuei. He was helping her get her friends back and set things right. He was helping her to get him back…she desperately wanted to se Kurama again now more than ever.

"Kira! Look out!"

She blinked just as Kokuei swooped down in front of her, his black feathery wings fully expanded. He winced in pain as something hit his back and doubled over.

"Kokuei!" She said startled kneeling down next to him with a concerned expression. She looked up to see Zetsubou standing twenty feet away with a sneer on his face. "Kuwabara, stay behind me." She ordered as she positioned herself in front of Kokuei. Kira took a fighting stance, not knowing what to expect from Zetsubou. Both times they had fought he had used different techniques and abilities. There was no guessing what he was going to do.

Zetsubou waved a hand airily. "First that youkai attacks me and now I'm going to fight a little girl. How boring."

"Watch it jackass!" She barked fiercely. "This little girl's gonna kick your ass."

"Humph, you think so?"

"It's a fact."

"Very well then, let's see what you can do." Instantly he vanished into thin air.

The next thing Kira knew was she felt a strong force flinging her aside and sending her sprawling on the hard ground. Next, something punched her in the stomach and picked her up by her shirt collar until she was three feet off the ground.

"I think I recall you saying that you were going to kick my ass." Zetsubou mentioned cruelly.

"Invisibility's a dirty trick." She grabbed his hand that was holding her and using all her strength, she flung him over her head and smirked when she heard the impact.

"Doesn't matter." He said, brushing himself off. "You still can't see me."

"Yeah, I can't, but I can hear you." She said turning around and elbowing him in the stomach. "Is this all you can do?"

Silence.

"I'll take that as a yes." Kira jumped up and kicked him in the face.

This time when he landed on the ground, his crumpled form became visible.

"Told you so." Kira strode over to him and put her foot on his back. "Any last words? You have ten seconds." Five seconds later she blasted him with her spirit energy, destroying every trace of him in Kuwabara's mind. Kira turned around and gave Kuwabara and Kokuei the v-sign. "Hell yeah! I rock!"

Kokuei sat up. "You never cease to amaze me."

Kira put her index finger under her nose. "Yeah, I'm cool like that."

Suddenly, everything began shaking. The brick pathway started crumbling beneath their feet and the neon lights flickered.

"What's going on?"

"We stopped Zetsubou from messing with Kuwabara's mind, it's probably restoring to its original state." Kokuei explained as the path beneath their feet gave way, sending them all falling into darkness.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kuwabara yelled at the top of his lungs before passing out.

A golden light emerged from the darkness and wrapped itself around Kira and Kokuei.

CRASH! 

Kira and Kokuei hit the wall on the other side of Kuwabara's room and slowly slid down it onto the floor.

"Are we alive?" Kira looked around.

"Of course we are."

"Good." Kira breathed a sigh of relief. "So, is his brain fixed now? I'm telling you, no more neon colors ever again."

"Agreed." Kokuei said instantly. "Never ever again." He went over to Kuwabara and erased his memory of the incident.

"Finally!" Sega said in exasperation. "I was getting worried about you two."

"We're fine now." Kira said to him while patting him on the head. She quickly stole a glimpse at Kokuei who had just finished modifying Kuwabara's memories.

**"Didn't you feel it? That dark energy surrounding him…"**

**XXXXXX**

DC-chan: Whee, it's finished. This chapter anyway…stay tuned for the next chapter or else –shakes fist-

MCT: OMG, Kira's getting less dense…

Seraph: It appears so…

DC-chan: I need to –ahem- move things along with those two and besides the next chapter is going to be abundant of KuramaXKira moments, well, more like Youko and Kira…it's gonna be good.

NEXT CHAPTER: A Fox's Tale

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan 3


	16. A Fox's Tale

DC-chan: Hahahahahahaha! I got flamed, it's about damn time too! (I have a short response to the flame at the end of this chapter) Sorry, it took me a while to write this chapter. I lost my notebook with the outline in it and I was too lazy to rewrite it. GOMEN NASAI MINNA-SAN! Anywho, enjoy! Another 5000+ word chapter for you guys!

Seraph: She's…happy?

MCT: Oddly happy…it's almost disturbing. –shudders-

Disclaimer: Umm…no. Don't look at me like that, you silly fools know I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho!

WARNING: This chapter has LIME implications because of Youko's wonderfully perverted tendencies. That also made it difficult for me to write this chapter, I don't really like to write lime/lemon/citrus, whatever the hell you call it, stuff. It just feels awkward and forced to me, but whatever…

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 16 of Define 'Normal'

A Fox's Tale

_A six-year-old Kira wobbled as she walked while trying to hold the heavy photo album in her tiny hands. "Mphm! This is so heavy!" She complained as she staggered over to the couch in the living room where her mother was sitting._

_"Kira?" Her mother put down her cup of tea on the coffee table in front of her as her daughter sat down next to her. "Where did you find that?"_

_"In one of the brown boxes by the stairs." The little girl answered innocently opening the book. "Will you read it to me?"_

_"Kira-chan, this isn't a book with words, it's a photo album." Rika held back a sigh. What was with children looking through everything? She could just imagine the mess Kira made by emptying out all the brown cardboard moving boxes in the hallways. Tch. Kids._

_Kira didn't seem to be listening and was absentmindedly flipping through the page, her brown eyes glancing at the photos. Kira finally stopped on a page near the back of the book that had one lone photograph. She tilted her head before jabbing her index finger at it curiously. "Who's that?"_

_Rika leaned over her daughter's shoulder to see that Kira was pointing at THAT picture. The only picture Rika had of Kira's father. It had been taken when they were in college, Rika remembered walking around all the time with her camera trying to get a picture of him because he refused to have one taken which made him all the more intriguing to her. Even when they began dating he wouldn't let her take a picture of him. Only on the day he proposed to her did he allow her to take a picture of him and it wasn't a bad one either._

_He was smiling, slightly, his lips upturned. His straight dark, dark red bangs almost covering his light brown eyes. His white shirt had the collar up around his neck and a few of the buttons were undone near the top, giving you a peek at his chest._

_Kira blinked. "Okaa-san? Who is he?"_

_Rika kissed the top of her daughter's head, "That's your father."_

_"Eh? For real?" Kira narrowed her eyes at the picture in attempt to study it before beaming. "I do look like him!"_

_"Of course, what do you expect?" Rika inquired before closing the photo album. "Now put this back where you found it, I would hate it if anything ever happened to that photo."_

_Kira nodded. "Alright." She picked up the heavy book and stumbled out of the room. _

_Rika cringed when she heard her daughter crash into a wall. She picked up her cup of tea shakily and took a sip, "That photo is the only momento I have of him…the only thing I have of Suuri."_

"Wake up." Kokuei said shaking the sleeping girl's shoulder.

Kira rolled over. "Ten more minutes…I'm so tired…"

"We all are," he replied lowering his head, "but this ordeal is almost over. Just Kurama and you left."

Kira slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Kokuei, "I was dreaming…about something…I just forgot what though."

_What is she talking about?_ Kokuei scratched the back of his neck before offering her his hand. "C'mon, we have to stop Zetsubou from killing Youko."

Kira hesitantly sat up, but didn't take Kokuei's hand. She rubbed her eyes. "So, this time he's going to kill one of my friends. What a desperate asshole." She stood up and brushed off her black denim jeans. Kira folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes as she noticed a pile of dead demons about twenty feet away from her. "What happened?"

"Next time, don't take a nap in the middle of Makai." Kokuei replied curtly. "Sleeping girls draw in youkai like moths to a flame."

Kira blushed. "Excuse me, but all this time traveling is really making me tired." She then indicated towards Sega who was still snoring on the ground. "He's exhausted as well, why can't we take a short break just once."

Kokuei rolled his eyes. "Let's just go."

"What about him?" She asked stubbornly, eyeing Sega's sleeping body with concern.

"He'll be fine." Kokuei said tugging on her arm.

Kira nodded and followed hesitatingly after one final glance over her shoulder at Sega. They were walking deeper and deeper into the forest and Kira was wondering if Kokuei had any idea where they were going. How would he know they were going the right way anyway? She didn't want something to happen to Kurama just because of that. However, she thought it best to keep her mouth shut.

Kokuei, on the other hand, was wondering why she was being so quiet all of a sudden. It was really uncharacteristic of her, but maybe she finally understood the gravity of the situation.

Kokuei's ears perked up when he heard a snapping sound of a twig. His arm shot up in front of Kira, halting her.

"What's wrong?"

"Shh." He growled taking a step forward cautiously and lowering his arm.

Kira stared tentatively at him and held her breath.

Suddenly, a white and silver blur bolted past them from behind and disappeared into the thicket ahead of them. It happened so fast that Kira found herself spinning on the spot and almost falling over, but Kokuei caught her in his arms.

"What was that?" Kira inquired, blinking in confusion.

They heard a quiet laughter from within the thicket that slowly grew louder and louder until it seemed like it was echoing throughout the forest.

A figure stepped out from the brussle of bushes and trees to reveal himself, a sinister yet playful smirk on his thin lips.

Kira bit her bottom lip and stared back and forth between Kokuei and the demon, Youko. _It's him! Man he's hot, but that's beside the point! What does he want? What is he doing here?_

Kokuei stood protectively in front of Kira, he knew that look on any demon's face. Youko was staring at Kira how a puppy would look at a new toy or a lion at a fresh piece of meat.

"I thought I smelled something cute." Youko chuckled darkly. "But I didn't think it would be a human girl." He leaned forward and sniffed the air. "Ah, you have some youkai blood in you though. Interesting." His smirk broadened and he flashed his teeth.

Kira and Kokuei stared down the seven-foot tall demon in front of them. Kira had seen Youko before, but she had forgotten how his presence made her feel. He had an air of superiority and viciousness about him that could make anyone's body tremble.

Kira took a step back upon noticing that Youko was looking past Kokuei and right at her. His eyes locked onto hers and she felt her cheeks become warm from the blood rushing to them. She grasped the bottom of her shirt in her hands before whispering to Kokuei, "Why is he here?"

Youko abruptly appeared behind her making her jump. "Now, now. Don't be so frightened, I promise I won't bite you…yet."

"Leave her alone, Youko." Kokuei demanded, stomping his foot onto the ground.

Youko's golden eyes fixed onto Kokuei. "You're quite a pest, you know that?" With that, long green, thorn covered vines sprung from below the ground and seized Kokuei around his ankles and wrists, holding him in place. Youko ran a hand through his silvery sheet of hair. "You can't stop me from taking what I want." He grabbed Kira around the waist and pulled her close to him. "I'm a thief, after all. I take what I want without asking."

Kira was almost too surprised to even try to pull away from Youko as he stroked her cheek with his hand while the other was firmly snaked around her waist.

He tilted her chin upward. "Why don't we continue our talk in privacy, away from your little friend."

Kira had the urge to knee him in the groin, but that was impossible to do with her back against his chest. However, from the tone of his voice, she got a feeling that he didn't just want to talk to her. "When you say talk, you don't mean that do you?"

"Well, well. You're not as slow as you look." He commented smugly before hitting her in the back of her head with his hand, knocking her out. He then put her over his shoulder and faced Kokuei again. "The next time you see your little flower she might not be so pure anymore." He waved mocking at him before running off with the unconscious Kira as his captive.

"YOUKO!" Kokuei shouted while he struggled against the vines holding him in his spot. This was not good, Kira got captured and he didn't even have a chance to put up a fight to prevent it from happening. Kokuei had underestimated what Youko was capable of, he told himself not to make that same mistake again.

…

Youko leaned back against his throne-like chair with one of his legs propped up against his chest and the other dangling over the edge while staring hungrily at his catch of the day who lay fast asleep on the bed in front of him. His golden eyes had trailed over every curve in her body at least a hundred times while he licked his lips, waiting for her to wake up. It was no fun to deflower his catches in their sleep, he preferred them awake and crying out in protest against him until they eventually caved into what their bodies desired. Then that was it, he was done with them.

The room they were in was one in the bowels of his thief hideout, it was the one that only he used to satisfy his frequent cravings. No one else dare use it or enter it, but him. It was a fairly large room, with one bed in the middle on top of a plateau like thing in the room that had five steps up. The bed was draped in white silky sheets with pillows and had a dark canopy over it, which was parted so he could see his sleeping prey.

He watched her silently, she was a rare catch. After all, it was unusual to find a demon-human hybrid and he could hardly recall a time when he had met one.

His eyes traced her legs and her hips to her chest where he could see a small pucker in front were her small breasts were which made him slightly disappointed so he pouted.

_Oh well…cute girls don't have everything. _He reminded himself hotly.

Youko saw her stir a bit so he got up and walked over to the bed. He put one of his knees up on the bed and leaned over her, brushing her red bangs out of her eyes. _Such unusual hair coloring too, black hair with red bangs. Must be her youkai blood. _He sat down on the bed and whispered in to her ear. "Don't you think its time to wake up now?"

Kira's eyes fluttered open and she sat up, feeling as if she was in a dream-like state. It took her a moment to realize that there was someone's warm breath against her neck. She shyly looked up at Youko towering over her. "Uh…hi."

He arched an eyebrow. She seemed oddly clam or perhaps she was too naïve to realize what he was going to do with her.

Kira, contrary to his belief, had exactly the right idea of what he was planning. She began to edge away from him, but he was too quick. He grabbed her and slammed her body down onto the bed and hovered over her on all fours.

"Not thinking of running away are you?" He asked coolly.

Kira furrowed her brows as his grip on her wrists tightened. "Why would I? I've always wanted to be raped." She muttered to him sarcastically.

Youko smiled in amusement and let go of her wrist, Kira laid on her back glaring at him. "Don't think of it that way, think of it as something your body can't deny." His hands glided down her front and stopped at the bottom her shirt, which he pulled over her head until it was tangled on her arms above her head. "I don't know why you humans insist on wearing bras." He said running his finger over the strap.

At this point, Kira's face was redder than a tomato's and only one thought was resonating in her head. _Pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert…_

He ran his index finger down the middle of her stomach to her jeans where he quickly gave her a devious smile before he slowly unbuttoned and unzipped them. He lowered his face until it was only a centimeter away from hers and paused for a few seconds, enjoying the shocked look on her face before kissing her ravenously on the lips.

Kira squirmed as he bit on her bottom lip until it was swollen then he directed his tongue into her mouth.

_Why me? Why me?_ Kira thought as she tried to turn her face away only to have him grab her chin so that she couldn't pull away from it.

Kira had never felt so embarrassed or panicked in her entire life. Even when she was bleeding to death or having threads of demonic strings cut into her flesh, she felt an odd sense of peace coming with death, but this was different. She knew he meant to go all the way too. Kurama had told her about Youko, though unwillingly (she had forced it out of him). About how dangerous he was and how, frankly put, horny he could be. Kira hadn't sweated the information then, but now she was. Here he was, the infamous Youko Kurama, getting ready to force himself on her. She knew her strength paled in comparison next to his, but she wasn't going to give it up without a fight.

Kira was just about to kick him when someone came bursting into the room.

Youko broke the savage kiss and glared daggers at the person at the doorway, obviously pissed about his fun being interrupted.

Kira's breathed a sigh of relief before she saw who was at the doorway. Her jaw dropped and her body tensed.

"Youko-sama, there's an intruder!" A flaming haired Hosaki said urgently.

Youko sat up on his knees and ran a hand over his face. "Just when it was getting fun too." He gave Kira a peeved expression. "You better be here when I get back, I always finish what I start." He got off the bed and stopped next to Hosaki by the doorway. "Now, don't do anything to my new toy." He warned her coldly. "I would hate to find her maimed or even dead when I get back."

Hosaki smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be extra nice to her." She watched as Youko walked away before whirling around and glowering at Kira.

Kira put her shirt back on and zipped up her pants while sweatdropping. "I never thought I'd say this, but thank you for your timing Hosaki. Damn, a few more minutes and I would've been…I don't even want to think about it." Kira sat up, she then paled when she saw the demon's demeanor. "Something wrong?"

Hosaki raised her hand and summoned a fireball, which she hurled at Kira who jumped of the bed just before it burst into flames. Hosaki throw fireball after fireball at Kira she kept narrowly dodging.

"Youko said not to kill me!" Kira argued, ducking just as a fireball whizzed over her.

"I won't tolerate anyone who's going to take him away from me!" Hosaki screamed, becoming even more incensed with every time Kira escaped her onslaught.

"Hate to break it to you, but if he's fucking other women then you've already lost him." Kira pointed out.

Hosaki's brow twitched. "Why you little bitch! I'll kill you for saying that!" Hosaki summoned an aura of flames around her and began throwing punches and kicks at Kira who blocked all of them with ease.

"Your moves are sloppy," Kira taunted, "am I really getting to you? A little girl like me pissing off a youkai like yourself?"

Hosaki did a high kick, which Kira caught with one hand, she then leaned forward and punched Hosaki in the stomach with her other hand, knocking the wind out of the fire demon. Hosaki doubled over clutching her stomach, Kira then elbowed the back of her head so it collided into the ground.

Kira folded her arms over her chest, a huge grin on her face. "You're so damn pathetic, Youko moved on from you long ago."

Hosaki gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she lay on the ground. "Shut up! Just shut the hell up!"

"Why do you care so much about him anyway?" Kira inquired rudely, putting her foot on the back of Hosaki's head so the fire demoness wouldn't dare get up. "I mean, he's obviously not interested in you anymore, ne?"

"What do you know? You're just a human!"

"Hey!" Kira barked furiously. "Don't give me that 'I'm just a human' crap! You give me lots of trouble over Kurama and I want to know why the hell you do! Even sixteen years from now you're going to be gushing over this guy, does it really seem worth it to you to chase someone who doesn't and never will feel the same way about you ever again? Does it?"

Hosaki blinked back her tears of frustration. "He said he loved me! He said he loved only me!"

Kira ran a hand over her face. "Did he say that before, during or after sex?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Believe me…it does…"

"Well, during…" Hosaki said blushing.

"Then he was lying."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"He was just using you, geez. Get over it. He just wanted to get in your pants." Kira explained with her hands firmly on her hips. "Most guys are like that. They're so hard to trust. That's why I'm skittish when it comes to relationships, take my dad for example: he meets my mom in college they get it on and sometime during her pregnancy he disappears mysteriously."

Hosaki stared blankly at Kira. "I don't see what that has to do with anything…"

"It's relevant to me anyway." Kira snapped then stuck her tongue out. "What I'm trying to say is just get over it."

"It's not as easy as you make it sound!" Hosaki shouted in a hurt tone.

Kira crinkled her nose and was just about to make a rebuttal when she heard a gun shot ring out.

"Shit, I've talked too long with you." Kira grabbed Hosaki by the back of her neck and drove her face first into a wall, knocking her senseless. "Nothing personal, wait…it was kind of personal…" Kira stood still for a minute feeling torn, part of her still resented Hosaki while the other part felt extremely sorry for her, but she didn't have time to think about it now. If what her gut told her was true, the hunter had just shot Youko.

She dashed out into the hallway, up several flights of steep stairs, down a few long corridors until she reached the entrance to the hideout, which was the mouth of a cave.

In a corner, she saw a crouched Youko in his fox form hissing a dark figure wearing a long trench coat. She saw the puddle of blood under the silver fox grow steadily larger as blood oozed from its wound.

The hunter raised his gun to kill the fox.

"NO!" Kira shouted tackling the hunter to the ground giving Youko a chance to runaway, which he did. Kira got back onto her feet hastily and turned around to face the hunter only to have her eyes grow as wide as saucers. The image of the photo from her dream came rushing back to her. His straight dark red hair that overshadowed his light brown eyes and pale skin were so familiar to her. She dropped to her knees, hardly believing what her eyes were seeing as the truth.

The man raised his gun to her forehead, his emotionless eyes staring down at her. "You let him getaway, you stupid girl! Do you know how many people he's killed!" He lowered his gun, "What am I saying? You're just a stupid kid." He slung his gun over his shoulder and ran after Youko.

Kira was too stunned to even move or think. Her brain and body were frozen, however, a word finally leaked out from her lips inaudibly, "Otou-san…"

**XXXXXX**

DC: Chapter end! OWARI! Haha, just kidding…-readers pelt her with tomatoes- AHHH! I'm sorry! Continuing the chapter now!

**XXXXXX**

Suuri (Kira's father in case you haven't been following the last few paragraphs) ran after Youko his gun in hand. That damn kid had prevented him from killing his target, but as long as he got the fox then he wouldn't care about it. However, there was something he couldn't shake off himself. That girl had looked startlingly familiar to him for a split second. She almost resembled that girl he had met in college and had to leave her while she was four months pregnant because he decided it was best for him to return to his job then pursue a normal human life. He had regretted that decision, but it was for the sake of that girl he loved and her unborn child.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, that was exactly the reason why he didn't want to get more involved with Rika, it would prevent him from doing his job.

Suuri skidded to a stop on the edge of a cliff and below him he saw the limping fox panting a wheezing for breath by a stream of water. He cocked his gun and closed one eye as he aimed to shot the fox. In a few seconds it would all be over.

Suddenly, Suuri felt a sharp pain drive through his chest. His guns fell from his hands and clattered onto the stone ground he was standing on. His eyes diverted down to see a hand sticking through his chest, blood pouring down his front side. Blood dripped from his lips and he coughed up a vat of it as the person pulled their hand out. Suuri fell to the ground choking on his own blood that was coming up his throat. He looked up to see a demon standing over and frowning at him.

Kokuei's face was passionless, his eyes dead as he watched Kira's father slowly dying in front of him and knowing that he was the one who killed him. "Be thankful fate was courteous enough to allow you a run in with your daughter." Kokuei said mechanically.

"W-what do you m-mean?" Suuri stammered, coughing up more blood.

Kokuei cocked his head to one side. "What does it matter? You're going to die now." Kokuei showed Suuri his hand as his nails extended before driving them through the side of the bounty hunter's head. "Youko can't die…not yet."

…

Kira finally willed herself to run as she tried to follow Youko's trail, which proved to be a difficult task. It's surprising how much a shock like that could drain her energy. Each time her feet hit the ground she felt weaker and more tired than before, as if she was being drained. At the very least she could feel his energy, which meant he was still alive, which was good.

She tripped over a jagged rock and fell on the hard ground, her knees and elbows getting badly scrapped, but she had to keep going.

Kira found a stream that had a trail of blood next to it and she knew it was Youko's. It was just a feeling in her gut that she had. She found the poor injured fox hiding under a fallen tree trunk licking his wounds.

"Are you okay?" She asked, wiping beads of sweat from her brow and ignoring her stinging elbows and knees.

The fox growled deeply at her. "Go away!"

"C'mon now," Kira pleaded with him, "don't be like that. I don't want that hunter to find you either, but if you sit around like this then he'll kill you for sure."

"That hunter isn't the only thing I'm worried about." Youko scoffed at her.

"Eh?" Kira blinked two times. "What do you mean?"

"I'm more worried about that youkai lurking behind you."

"Lurking behind-"

Kira didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence when she felt someone grab her by her ponytail and fling her against a tree.

Kira rubbed the back of her neck, which was now aching in pain. "Who the hell?" She squinted her eyes to see Zetsubou standing with his back to her, walking over to where Youko was. Kira balled her fists furiously. She couldn't let that freak do anything to Youko, she couldn't! If he killed Youko then there wouldn't be any Kurama, it would be over before it even started. She wouldn't let that happen. Never. Ever.

She lifted her hands up in front of her and concentrated on gathering her energy. A huge blue ball of spirit energy formed in-between her shaking hands which seemed to catch Zetsubou's attention.

He warily stared at the energy she was holding in her hands. "You just don't give up do you? Ever if you do manage to beat me in the past, you're only facing me with a fraction of my original energy. In the present you wouldn't stand a chance when I'm at full power. Don't you get it? You can't win."

"No, I don't get it." Kira nearly yelled at him. "I don't get why you're so hell bent on messing up my friends' and my lives! Maybe you just don't get the fact that you're losing asshole! We've beaten you three times already and I'm about to make this number four!" She took her gathered energy in her right hand and blasted him with it, creating a huge mushroom cloud of dust.

When it settled, he was still standing there, but his cloak was a little torn and dirty.

Kira was taken aback. _Why didn't that work? That should've blasted him to smithereens!_

Zetsubou chortled. "My turn." He raised his hand and was about to shoot a dark energy bolt at Kira when Youko jumped out and bit him on the hand.

"Run!" Youko ordered to Kira who was standing there dumbfounded. "Before he kills you! Get out of here!"

"No! I can't let him kill you! You're important to me!"

Zetsubou shook the fox off his hand and sent the animal sprawling to the ground. "I'll kill that menace after I kill you, girl." He disappeared in the blink of an eye then appeared in front of Kira, punching her in the face.

She got knocked back onto the ground with her forehead bleeding, blood dripping down the bridge of her nose. She wiped it off with the back of her hand before moving just as quickly as him to punch him right in the stomach.

Zetsubou hit the back of her head and jumped over her in a teasing manner and landed behind her.

Kira's temple throbbed. Nothing was working against this guy and that was ticking her off.

"Need some help?" Kokuei asked appearing next to her.

"Where in the bloody hell were you?" Kira screamed into his ear.

"Taking care of some things…"

"Huh?" Kira stared dead pan at him. "What could be more important than saving fox boy?"

"Never mind." Kokuei said throwing off his trench coat to reveal his inky black feathery wings. He flapped them a few times to get into the air before charging at Zetsubou and impaling the demon with his long nails through the throat.

Zetsubou's body cringed before dissolving into nothing on the spot.

Kira's jaw opened and closed. "How? Why? What?" She rubbed her eyes and did a double take. "He was like nothing to you!"

Kokuei landed back on the ground. "Yeah, well let's just say I was already warmed up." He winked at her.

"So was I!" Kira argued back. "I fought Hosaki again! But it was more like a one-sided smack down." Kira then opened her mouth and put her hands on her cheeks and looked as if she had been slapped across the face. "Oh! I forgot about Youko!" She went over and knelt beside injured fox. "Thanks."

The fox grunted in response, it raised it's head and looked at her. "You said I was important to you. What did you mean?"

Kira froze up again, a bright pink blush appearing on her face. "You see, um, in the future, um…Kokuei! Erase his memory already! I'll go find Sega!" With that, she took off running in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Wait!" Youko shouted after her.

Kokuei shook his head and put his hands over the fox's head. "You are more trouble then you know, Youko. Kira got badly hurt to protect you."

"Why do you care?"

"Because," Kokuei said as his hands began glowing, "I love her."

…

"That's taken care of!" Kira exclaimed as she slid down into a siting position against a tree.

Sega sat down next to her. "So, what was it like meeting Youko Kurama?"

Kira fidgeted and looked away. "Mind your own business, okay?"

"That bad, huh?"

"It was terrible, but he did save me from getting totally owned by Zetsubou."

"That's good."

Kira put her chin in her hand, "Yeah…"

Kokuei emerged from the trees while cracking his knuckles. "Everything here is taken care of. We can go on to fixing your past now, Kira."

"Um, Kokuei?" Kira said timidly.

"Yeah?"

"Did you happen to see the hunter that shot Youko by any chance?"

Kokuei was silent for a few moments, as if he was in deep thought. "No." He answered sternly. "Why?"

Kira drew circles in the dirt with her index finger with pursed lips. "It's nothing…"

**XXXXXX**

DC-chan: HA! How do you dem apples? I like throwing in lots of twist and turns. Keeps me excited to write more and see reactions.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Final Blow Is Struck

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

DC-chan

p.s. In a couple of days or weeks, I'm planning on going back and revising chapters for spelling and grammar mistakes so yeah…go me. I guess I'll be doing that slowly and gradually.

FLAME RANT:

I think what many people fail to realize is that many people on this site write for fun and to improve their writing skills. People who flame other writers' stories don't seem to understand that this is just a hobby for some people while others aspire to be novelists (I'm not one of those people). We all have to start somewhere don't we? Besides, this is a fan site…what do you expect? I like to write for fun so what the hell do I really care about a few grammar/spelling mistakes that escape my eyes? Flamers are the ones that end up looking bad in the end, honestly. I like to write and I enjoy criticism, but getting a review like that is not helpful or polite for that matter, is not productive. It's rude and it makes you look like the dumb one especially when it's a copy and pasted rant that you probably didn't even write. BE ORIGINAL, at least that's what I'm doing. So unless you're going to be HELPFUL instead of an ass, seriously, fuck off. I'd rather people tell me what areas of my writing to work on then that I'm just being another generic Mary-Sue writer.

And that ends my little flamer rant.


	17. The Final Blow Is Struck

Dc-chan: TIME TO WRITE MORE! This chapter is probably going to boring and short because it's about Kira and I don't think the YYH characters will even make an appearance in this chapter. Kira might have a few thoughts about you-know-who though…-wink, wink- And, alas, Takuto is not forgotten. This chapter also explores a bit of his past as well and when I say a bit I mean I skim the surface of it.

Seraph: You-know-who?

MCT and Dc-chan: YOU-NO-POO! The constipation sensation that's gripping the nation! AHAHAHAHAHA!

Dc-chan: Ah, Fred and George. They're so funny.

Disclaimer: I really don't own it, really. I'm being serious, note serious face. –looks deadly serious-

WARNING: Four-year-old angst, it ain't pretty. And Kira's getting less dense! YAY!

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 17 of Define 'Normal'

The Final Blow Is Struck

"Hey, this is a hospital." Kira said pointing at the huge, white sterile building in front of them.

"Do you want points for that observation?" Kokuei rolled his dark eyes in annoyance.

"We're playing with points?" Sega said putting his index finger to his lip with wide eyes. He then looked at Kira. "Did you know that?"

Kira shook her head and whispered back into his ear. "I think we're losing though…"

Kokuei's head steamed. "Honestly you two! It's like time traveling with two four-year-olds!" He crossed his arms across his chest and gave them a very vexed expression. "Can't you be serious at all about this? We didn't come here to play games with each other!"

"Geez," Kira said puffing out her cheeks, "don't have to be a meanie about. I was just joking."

Kokuei noted that her behavior had been very odd the past couple hours. She had asked about her father and he had lied, but there was no way that she would've known that. Maybe she was just unnerved from seeing him and acting like an idiot was a way to take it off her mind. He sighed, but didn't regret what he had done. Killing Kira's father was just another thing he had to do to ensure there was one less obstacle between him and his goal.

"So, what are we doing here? Does this have to do with my parents?" Kira asked innocently, returning her gaze back to the hospital.

"As a matter of fact, it has to do with your mother." Kokuei replied sourly. "You see, the reason why your room was pink was because you never moved to New York in the first place."

Kira pumped her fist in the air. "Hell yeah! New York toughened me up, didn't it?"

"Could you let me finish?"

Kira put her hands over her mouth quickly and nodded for him to continue.

"Your mom remarried so that's why you didn't move. We need to rectify that immediately."

"Okay." Kira said clapping her hands together and started running in the direction of the hospital, but Kokuei stopped her by grabbing onto the back of her shirt. "Hey!" Kira shouted at him while trying to run, her legs flailing, but she wasn't getting anywhere.

"We can't afford having your mom see you." He let go of her and Kira tripped over her own feet and fell on her face. "You should stay out of this one." He began walking towards the white building with his hands in his coat pockets as Kira glared after him with intense anger.

Sega blinked cutely. He tugged on Kira's hand. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

Kira heaved one shoulder up and down. "Who knows?" She put a hand on Sega's head, she had after all, got quite accustomed to the little spirit child after so much time traveling.

"You don't trust him?" Sega said as if he was reading her thoughts.

Kira frowned. "I don't know…after yesterday with Youko and the hunter…I…" She cast her eyes downward. She didn't really want to talk about it, it would only upset her. Finding out her father was the one who shot Youko was shock enough for her. She couldn't help, but wonder if Kurama knew that? Also, she could tell from just looking at Kokuei that he knew something, his body language and attitude gave that much away. She made a mental note to ask Genkai about it as soon as she got back.

"Let's have fun while Kokuei's off being macho." Kira said suddenly, snatching Sega's hand. "You ever had a crepe before?"

"No."

"Been to a park?"

"Never."

Kira sweatdropped and furrowed her brows. "Eaten so much ramen you thought you were gonna pass out?"

"Uh-uh." Sega answered curtly while wondering what a crepe was.

"You poor, deprived soul!" Kira said crushing Sega in a death grip-like hug. She got stars in her eyes as she carried Sega off to the nearest park. "We got so much to do this afternoon!"

…

"This is strawberry?" Sega asked examining the crepe in his hands curiously and poking it with his finger.

"Yeah, yeah." Kira said in-between bites of her chocolate crepe. "C'mon, eat some of it. You'll love it."

Sega gave his crepe one last odd stare before taking a small bite. His eyes lit up as he chewed it. "This is yummy!"

"Told you so." Kira said, hitting him lightly on the back of his head with her fist and giving him a small knuckle noogie. She finished her own crepe and wiped a crumb off the side of her lip with her thumb. "Having fun yet?"

Sega swallowed a bite of his crepe and beamed at her. "The park was…uh…wicked awesome!" He said, remembering the words she had taught him.

"That's right. Good job!" She gave him the thumbs up sign, which he returned.

They started walking into the forest part of the park where there were less people on a pathway paved with smooth stones. Sega was nearly jumping up and down as they walked, he was so happy. He had never known what he had been missing out on while living in Reikai. It was like a door to a whole new world had opened to him.

However, the bliss was short lived as their contentment was cut off by the cries of a little girl.

"Give it back!" The girl cried, reaching up with her hands as a bully three times her size stood over her, dangling a teddy bear just out of her grasp.

The boy smirked. "No way, you're family is a bunch of freaks!"

The girl sniffed loudly. "Please, give him back!"

"A weirdo like you doesn't deserve toys!" The bully said as he just about to rip the bear's head off, Kira caught his hand and bent it backwards towards his wrist, making the bully cringe in pain. "Let go! Let go!"

"Give the girl back her teddy bear or I'll break your wrist!" Kira demanded with such ferocity that Sega could hardly believe that this was the same girl that took him to the park and bought him his first crepe. Her eyes were burning with a fire he had never seen before.

The bully dropped the teddy bear at the little girl's feet and scattered off as soon as Kira released his wrist.

"Stupid bullies…" Kira said biting the inside of her cheek as imaged flashed in her mind about her own childhood experiences with bullies. She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts and faced the little girl just as she was picking up her teddy bear.

"Thank you." The girl said bowing, her brown pigtails bobbing as she did so. She looked up at Kira with eerily familiar purple eyes. "Thank you for saving Peko-chan." She indicated to her black bear.

Kira raised an eyebrow. "You're name wouldn't have to be Suzume, would it?"

The little girl looked taken back. "How did you know? Unless…" she dropped her voice, "you're like me."

"Like you?"

"Special, that's what my parents call me and ni-san." Suzume said in her cute voice, Kira reckoned she couldn't be older than three or four.

"Takuto, you mean." Kira mumbled, resting her hands on her knees and bending down a little. "What do you mean by special?"

"Our family is a family of spiritualistic medians." Suzume clarified, while stumbling over the word spiritualistic.

"In other words, shaman." Sega whispered to Kira, who was looking somewhat confused.

"Oh." Kira's mouth formed a small 'o'. "Is that why he was picking on you?"

Suzume lowered her head. "No, it's my fault because I'm weak." Tears started rolling down her flustered cheeks. "They never pick on my brother because he can stand up to them, but me…I'm weak…" She buried her face in her teddy bear.

Kira stared blankly at the crying girl, she didn't have much experience with kids despite the fact that she babysat on occasion, but she had no idea what to do with a preschooler sobbing hysterically in front of her.

Suzume spoke up again, her voice quivering. "For thousands of years my family has been p-persecuted and hated and blamed for terrible things. It's not fair!"

Kira lowered her eyelids, finally feeling some compassion towards Takuto who she otherwise wouldn't give a crap about. It must've been hard growing up like that, with everyone hating and fearing you. It must've been lonely and she knew how that felt, but Kira still didn't know what to say, she was at a loss for words.

"I never knew what Takuto went through…" Kira said gloomily with a huge weight of guilt now occupying her. She put her hands on her head. "ACK! I can't take the guilt!"

Kokuei exhaled heavily. "It's not an easy thing to deal with, being hated for what you were born as."

Kira glanced at Kokuei, feeling even more depressed once she remembered how Kokuei came to exist and how his father treated him. How could there be this much pain and suffering in the world? How much shit did people have to deal with in their lives? She felt as if her own pain was trivial compared to theirs. She couldn't imagine if people hated her, she knew she got on their nerves and some wanted to kill her, but she didn't think they hated her.

Sega noticed Kira's pained expression. "Don't worry, you're a nice person." He smiled slightly at her before looking back at the ground.

Kokuei gently laid the unconscious Suzume on the ground with the utmost care. "We have to go and get Zetsubou now."

Kira wiped away the hot tears forming near the edges of her eyes. "Alright. Sega, can you watch Suzume while we're gone?"

"Of course." Sega said as he sat down on the ground, his eyes now fixed on Suzume whose tiny hands were clutching her stuffed bear.

…

Kira and Kokuei walked into the hospital, which was very busy. Nurses and doctors were running around like mad, as if their clothes were on fire. While the people at the front desks phones were ringing off the hook and typing furiously on their keyboards.

"So, what are we doing? Are we going to kill my 'stepfather'?" She sounded somewhat hopeful about the subject.

"No." Kokuei answered bluntly. "I've been here all day so I know what's going on. Zetsubou has shapeshifted into your mom's boss and is planning to have your mom hook up with a coworker."

"That's all?" Kira hit a wall with her clenched fist. "That's SO damn lame!"

"Well, that's what's going down." Kokuei said sheepishly. "You're actually disappointed aren't you?"

Kira sulked. "Kinda…as long as my room isn't pink when we go back I have no more complaints." She gave him a curt nod.

"Good. Now, what we have to do is cause a distraction that will attract all the doctors' attentions so we can kill Zetsubou without worrying about anyone seeing us." Kokuei filled her in quietly.

Kira suddenly remembered something and raised her hand. "I have a question!"

"Yeah?" Kokuei said dismissively.

She dropped her hand by her side and gave her a quizzical face. "Did you modify Hosaki's memory?"

"Why would I do that?"

Kira put her fist under chin thoughtfully. "Well, didn't I tell you I got into a fight with her? Won't she still remember me?"

Kokuei's face paled whiter than a ghost's. He had forgotten about that.

"Isn't that meddling in the past?" Kira pressed on.

"Uh, about that…" Kokuei started while chuckling nervously, "she kinda slipped my mind."

"Is that bad?"

"Only in the fact that she's going to remember you and probably be more hell bent on killing than before."

Kira clicked her tongue. "That can't be good. Oh well, Kurama will protect me." She said the last part without even thinking about it.

Kokuei looked hurt for a split second before resuming his poised and calm composure.

A thought just dawned onto Kira that was more relevant than Hosaki. When she was back in the present with everything fixed, how would she tell Kurama? Would she even tell him? Could she even tell him that the time in the past without him had made her miss him so much that she slowly began to realize her feelings for him? Since this ordeal was almost over that time was fast approaching. She kept these thoughts to herself however because she was aware that Kokuei liked her and she didn't want to hurt his feelings intentionally. She rolled her teeth over her bottom lip. This was far too complicated for her to think about now.

"You need to pretend to faint."

"That's nice…WHAT?" Kira looked at him outraged.

"We need to cause a distraction and catch their attention. So, faint already."

"Oh no, I won't." Kira made an 'X' in front of her with her arms in defiance. "You faint."

"No."

"Well I'm sure as hell not doing it."

"Why not?"

"Because…I don't want to!"

"You don't even have a good reason!"

"Don't yell at me." Kira hissed, lowering her voice when she noticed they were attracting odd stares from the people around them.

Just then, the paramedics came skidding into the building was a young girl on an emergency stretcher.

"We have a serious situation here." One paramedic cried.

"What happened?"

Kira recognized that voice instantly and hid behind a plant as her mother went running past her to the paramedics.

"She was in a car accident, there's a gash in the head that won't stop bleeding." The paramedic informed her.

"Take her to the operating room." Rika ordered rolling up her sleeves. "We're going to need to sew that up and bandage it as soon as possible."

_Wow, okaa-san is really cool. She's so in charge._ Kira thought as it occurred to her she had never seen her mother actually work before in the hospital.

"Well, that was a well timed distraction, ne?" Kira said turning to face Kokuei who couldn't agree better himself.

"Yeah…"

"Now let's get the bad guy!"

"What are you two doing here?" A grumpy old man wearing a white doctor jacket asked them.

"Huh?" Kira stared at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Takeda, I'm charge of this medical clinic." He introduced himself bitterly.

"Oh, that's cool. I'm Kira." She replied absentmindedly, ignoring Kokuei's frantic hand signs to get her attention.

The old man adjusted his glasses. "I know who you are, you're that meddlesome girl."

"Hm?" Kira glanced at Kokuei. "Wait, don't tell me he's-"

Too late.

The next thing Kira knew was that she had been pinned to the wall by the old man…

…who was holding her several feet off of the ground.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a surgical knife, he then lifted Kira even higher by her shirt collar until it was over her head then he stuck the knife through her shirt so she was hanging on the wall. Zetsubou laughed as her face turned red from abashment from being mocked about her short height.

"Hey!" Kira cried in protest, flailing her arms and legs around in a vain attempt to get down. "This is so not funny asshole! You wait until I get down then we'll see whose laughing then!"

Kokuei lunged at Zetsubou who dodged with apparent ease.

"The two of you are so troublesome." Zetsubou stated as he put his arms behind his back and morphed back into his original form, the hooded figure.

Kira raised her hands over her head and gripped the knife tightly between her hands. She pulled it out and fell onto the floor, landing on her feet. She tossed the knife on the ground and examined her shirt that now had a hole in it and the collar was stretched out. Her temple throbbed in anger as she clutched her shirt collar. _That…bastard…_She balled her hands into fists and like they say, 'hell hath no fury like a women scorned'. Or something along that line.

Kira took her fighting stance and without waiting for Zetsubou to react, charged at him. She punched him twice in the stomach, then kicked him in the head four times before kneeing him right in the groin sending him crumpled onto the tile floor. She then lifted him up by his hood and preceded to hit him on the head over and over again. There's nothing like overkill to escalate your mood.

She then gathered her spirit energy into her hand and fired the blast right into his face, creating a huge bloody mess in the hallway as his head basically exploded. Kokuei ducked as a chunk of flesh went flying his way and splattered against the wall behind him.

Kira dropped his headless body onto the ground, her bangs casting a dark shadow over her eyes.

"Kira?" Kokuei asked carefully.

Kira didn't move for a full minute, which made him very uneasy. After all, the girl had just snapped.

She then tucked her bangs behind her ears, her eyes filled with agitation. "He ripped my shirt. He just had to cross the line, now I'm covered in blood too! Great, just great!" She stared at Kokuei sourly. "Can we get out of here now, I'm sick of this time traveling and of him. I want him dead for good now!"

_I guess it doesn't matter what type of girl you are, don't mess with their clothes. _Kokuei decided not to point out that there was a huge rip in her jeans just below her rear end. That would only upset her even more and boy, he didn't want that at all.

"So now my kaasan won't remarry right?" Kira asked out of the blue as they exited the hospital.

"He was never able to introduce her to that guy so yeah…" Kokuei said rubbing the back of his neck. "Now everything is fine and when we go to the present, everything will be normal."

"Phfft." Kira rolled her eyes nonchalantly at that statement. "As if life was ever normal, but now I suppose it will be normal…er." She added at the end. She threw her arms up into the air. "No more pink room with disgustingly cute stuffed animals and those god awful pop music posters!" _And all of my buddies…_

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: I originally wrote a long-winded rant right here about all these authors using the name Kira in their fics and that was pissing me off because I feel like I'm being copied, but I deleted cuz I knew that there's really nothing I could do about it. But it still upsets me. Anyway…I have a present for all of you readers and especially to the reviewers…-drum roll- AN OMAKE FOR ALL OF YOU!

--OMAKE THEATRE 3—

**MORE BLOOPERS!**

Youko: Hey.

Kira: -blink, blink-

Youko: -rips off his own pants- NO PANTS! –there's a censor sign over his you-know-what-

Dc-chan: -into megaphone- DAMMIT YOUKO! You're not working at that strip club anymore! You just ruined the scene!

Kira: AHHHHHHHH! MY EYES! -covers eyes and rolls around on the floor screaming-

Female stagehand: -blushing while handing Youko money-

Dc-chan: DON'T CONDONE HIS VULGAR BEHAVIOR WITH MONEY DAMMIT!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bully: -drops teddy bear-

Teddy bear: -hits ground and explodes- BOOOOOOOOOOOM! –mushroom cloud-

Suzume: oo My teddy…Peko-chan…-sniff, sniff-

Kira: Ehehehe, it blew up. :D

Sega: -question mark over his head- How did that happen?

Suzume: -sniff- Teddy…I WANT MY TEDDY BACK! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! –screaming and crying louder than an air horn-

Dc-chan: -covering her ears along with actors and staff- For the love of my eardrums, before they start bleeding, SOMEBODY BRING THIS GIRL ANOTHER DAMN TEDDY BEAR!  
Stagehand: WHAT?  
Dc-chan: I SAID BRING THE GIRL ANOTHER TEDDY BEAR!  
Stagehand: WHAT? –still has his ears covered…-  
Dc-chan: -smacks stagehand repeatedly with her megaphone- USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!  
Stagehand: -laying in a bloody pulp on the floor- I knew I should've taken that job at McDonalds…  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Kira: Oh, you poor girl.  
Suzume: -crying-  
Youko: -runs across pathway and strikes a dramatic pose- NO PANTS! –runs off-  
Kira: The hell?  
Suzume: -blinks- Meh…-cries even harder- I SAW HIS THINGY! WAHHHHHHHHHHH!   
Dc-chan: -runs hand over face- I'm going to need some serious therapy after this.  
Everyone else: Yeah…us too. oo;   
END BLOOPER REEL!  
NEXT CHAPTER: Reunification (The chapter you've all been waiting for people! The big happy reunion!)  
ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,  
Dc-chan  
And a special thanks to everyone who reviewed and encouraged me to write more! Also, I'm putting up a chapter for a new fiction idea I recently had up soon. You better check it out, its another Yu Yu Hakusho one called 'Fully Alive' or 'Grand Theft Autumn', can't decide between those two names…  
NO PANTS! I don't know why, but that cracks me up.


	18. Reunification

Dc-chan: So, yeah. Lots of shit happened during these two weeks. Some serious shit. That's why I haven't updated even though I was planning to. First I had to study for massive tests, then do a truckload of homework and then something terrible happened. I'm kinda devastated right now so I'll vent my feelings through writing. Is anyone else noticing that Kira's character is changing a little besides me? Or maybe I just think she's changing?

DEDICATION: This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Molly. I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but everyone misses you. Rest in peace.

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 18 of Define 'Normal'

Reunification

Yusuke's eyes blinked open, his brown orbs glazed over as if he had been under some sort of spell. He sat, his entire body aching as if he had just finished a training session with Genkai herself an hour ago. His head throbbed like someone had beaten him with a metal baseball bat. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and breathed in and out slowly. What the hell just happened to him? It felt like he had been out for a week.

In the dark room, Yusuke's eyes gradually adjusted so he could see three other unconscious bodies before him: Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei.

Now he was really confused. Weird stuff had happened before to him and his friends, but this was a little too strange. He faintly remembered knowing he had to fight someone, but who? Ah, hell. His brain was shot right now. He didn't want to think about it for the time being.

Lifting his foot, he nudged the person closet to him with it. "Hey, Kuwabara. Get your ass up." He poked the orange haired teenage a few times with the toe of his shoe before getting a reaction.

Kuwabara stirred, first one eye opened then the other. "Are we dead?"

"No." Yusuke scoffed, finally shoving his whole foot in Kuwabara's face. "We're just hanging around here because we like dark places."

"Hey! Get that outta my face Urameshi!"

"Or you'll what? Rub the sleep out of your eye on me?"

"Why you!" Kuwabara shouted shoving away Yusuke's foot away from himself and locking his arms around his friend's neck. "I'll strangle you!"

"Like to see you try!" Yusuke countered as he slipped out of Kuwabara's grasp and twisted his arm behind his back as he slammed him against the ground. Yusuke sneered. "You'll have trouble making threats in this position, eh Kuwabara?" He snickered as Kuwabara struggled to break free from Yusuke's torturous hold on him.

And so the skirmish went back and forth for some odd minutes, each time, one or the other gaining the upper hand for a second before the other turned the tables. It could've been an endless cycle and amusing to watch if Hiei hadn't woken up extremely irritated and not in the mood to put up with either of their immature behavior.

"Silence!" Hiei barked at them while holding his head in his hand. "Your stupid fighting is making my head hurt even more." In the back of his head, he could feel his brain aching. Where the hell was the aspirin when you needed it? He felt like his head was going to explode any second.

The next thing any of them knew, a bright light engulfed the room before disappearing as quickly as it came.

They all blinked a few times as they saw many different colored spots in front of their eyes for a minute.

The second thing Kuwabara and Yusuke knew was that they had been affectionately tackled in a bone-crushing hug. Hiei was glad that he hadn't been hugged, hugging wasn't his thing at all. He probably would've killed anyone brash enough to do so without a second thought.

"Kira?" Yusuke said in surprise in-between gasps for air.

Kira squeezed both of them harder, her arms wrapped around the middle of their torsos, cutting off their breathing. "Yes?" She beamed at him, clearly ecstatic for reasons unknown to Yusuke or Kuwabara for that matter. Neither of them had any memory of her time traveling which could be taken as a good thing because she knew she could embarrass the hell out of them with those stories. Some things were probably better left not said or even briefly mentioned.

"We…can't…need…oxygen…" Kuwabara managed to say, his face turning blue.

"Oh, sorry." Kira said still smiling as she let go of them, but not feeling the least bit abashed by her actions.

Kokuei and Sega continued to stand awkwardly behind them.

"What was that for?" Yusuke inquired, eyeing her suspiciously. First he wakes up feeling worse than shit then she tackles him, nearly knocking him out again. He studied her perky composure for a few seconds. _That was weird._

"Yeah, Kamiyama!" Kuwabara joined in shaking his large fist at her.

"I'm so relieved that you're both okay!" Kira continued on, ignoring their now blank faces. She then exchanged cold glares with Hiei. "Unfortunately, you're okay as well."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Hiei replied harshly. He did not like that girl one bit.

"Dammit Hiei." Kira cursed under her breath. "You have no idea about the hell I went through for all of you guys, you stupid shrimp."

"Say something?" Hiei mentioned, putting his hand on the handle of his sword, a twisted frown on his face, eyes narrowed like those of a heartless killer.

Kira sweatdropped and took a step back. "Haha, nothing." She waved her arms frantically in front of herself. It was then that she realized that someone had still not woken up. She could've banged her head against a wall at how bad she felt by not noticing it before. Kurama was still out cold, but she could see he was breathing from the way his chest moved up and down. She ran over to him and knelt down beside him. Her shaking hands reached out and clutched the fabric of his shirt, praying that he was okay. "Kurama?" Her voice trembled as she said his name.

"What's wrong?" Yusuke asked, standing behind her and gazing over her shoulder. "Aw, man! Kurama!" He furrowed his brows in concern. "What's wrong with him?"

Kira shook her head. "How am I suppose to know? Oh shit, this can't be good." _Wake up! Wake up! _Her mind raced furiously and slight panic gripped her. Why wasn't he awake? Everyone else was. This didn't make any sense. Her hands trembled and she bit her bottom lip.

"Oh dear, is he still not awake yet?" A cold voice echoed off the walls of the room.

Kira's body tensed up at hearing that eerie voice once more. She had almost forgotten that they weren't done yet. There was still one more demon to fight.

Yusuke suddenly remembered the name. "Zetsubou…"

"That's right."

The ground under them began shaking and suddenly the cloaked figure jumped out of the dark shadows, aiming to punch Yusuke in the face, but having the quick reflexes that he did, he managed to dodge the hit. While Zetsubou's back was to him, Yusuke charged up his spirit gun. "Rei gun!" The blue energy shot forth from his index finger and hit the intended target and actually proceeded to go through Zetsubou's chest. "Bullseye!" Yusuke said triumphantly.

His celebration was short lived however, Zetsubou merely scoffed. "Is that all?"

Yusuke's eyes widened. "What do you mean by that? My shot just went right through you." His confusion was apparent. Even demons were mortal, right? Surely such a clean shot like that would make any demon cringe or double over in pain.

Kira looked at Kokuei as she sat, still huddled over Kurama with Kuwabara and Hiei on opposite sides of her. "I thought you said he would be weaker than before now that we've defeated his other parts!"

"It appears I made a miscalculation." He replied stiffly, pushing Sega behind him.

Zetsubou disappeared then reappeared right in front of Yusuke's face. "You shouldn't be so quick to presume."

Yusuke narrowed his brown eyes. "And you shouldn't be so quick to presume that you're indestructible." He pointed at Zetsubou's chest with a slight grin on his face where a huge hole was; you could see right through it to the other side of the room. Blood was gushing out of the wound, soaking Zetsubou's cloak with bright red blood.

"It's only a flesh wound." Zetsubou said, not even glancing down at it or flinching from the pain. "This is nothing compared to the damage I will inflict upon you." With that said, he gathered dark energy into his hand and shot it at Yusuke who was too close to have time to dodge.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled a little too late.

"Pathetic." He said as Yusuke went skidding along the floor until his back hit the wall with a loud thud sound. Zetsubou turned his head so he was looking over his shoulder at Kira and Kurama. "Who wants to play next?"

Kuwabara cringed inwardly.

Kira hunched her shoulders over and glared at him. "Why the hell are you staring at me?" Her voice quivering slightly as she spoke with more courage than she felt.

Hiei stepped forward and took off his cloak before throwing it to the side in a nonchalant manner. Out of the corners of his wine red eyes he gave Kira a deadly stare. "Keep an eye on Kurama."

Kira gulped. "S-sure…" She wondered what kind of pain Hiei had in mind for Zetsubou. Well, one thing was for sure. It was going to be painful.

Hiei's scary red eyes scanned Zetsubou up and down quickly, as if he studying his prey. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword until it clutched the handle and with one fluid motion he drew it, slicing the air that was in-between them. His smirk slowly changed into a hardened frown.

"Who are you trying to intimidate with that toy of yours?"

Hiei got into his normal fighting stance, still ridden with his usual abundance of confidence in his abilities.

Zetsubou laughed darkly before firing black energy blasts at Hiei, who deflected them all with his sword surprisingly. He sent the blasts flying back at Zetsubou who merely stepped to the side to avoid being hit by them.

Hiei lunged forward, raising his sword over his head then swinging it down just as he was inches away from Zetsubou who caught the blade in his hand. Zetsubou turned the blade to one side, ignoring how the metal was cutting into the palm of his hand and with a flick of the wrist, he broke the blade off. He threw it to the side as a slightly shocked Hiei glowered at him resentfully.

"Hiei, please tell me you have a spare sword!" Kuwabara yelled.

"What do I look like to you?" Hiei snorted, sending Kuwabara a death glare that froze the carrot top.

Kira looked down at Kurama whose head was in her lap as he lay sleeping or unconscious or whatever the hell you want to call it. If only he was awake, she knew he could do something about their predicament.

"Please, wake up…" She let go of his shirt and covered her face in her hands. She did not just go through all that time traveling to lose her friends again. She wouldn't stand for that kind of pain again.

_Kira…_

Kira's eyes widened in surprise. What was that?

_Kira…_

Quickly, she looked around herself frantically. Someone was calling her name. The voice sounded so familiar, kind of like…

_KIRA, YOU DIMWIT! CAN YOU HEAR ME OR CAN'T YOU?_

Kira jumped in surprised. "G-grams?"

Kuwabara gave her a strange look. "Who are you talking to?"

Kira clamped her hand over Kuwabara's mouth and hissed at him. "Shh! I need to listen! Grams, I can hear you fine."

_Good._ Genkai said contentedly.

"Holy shit!" Kuwabara spazzed. "I can hear her too!"

Kira shoved Kuwabara's head into the floor with her hand. "Shut up!"

_Kira, you and your friends are in quite a predicament._

"Isn't that obvious?" Kira grumbled. "But if you're talking to me now, then surely you must have an idea."

_I have many ideas, but only one that will hopefully work. _Kira heard Genkai sigh heavily. _But you must be willing to do it no matter what._

Kira clutched her fist. "Of course I'll do it!"

_Good, now listen. Your only chance of beating Zetsubou right now is to use Youko._

"But Kurama's…"

_YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW THAT DUMMY?_

"Sorry, sorry!" Kira said in a panic, waving her arms over her head. She calmed herself down. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

_You'll have to transfer some of your energy into Kurama to trigger the transformation._

Kira bit her bottom lip in confusion. "And how do I do that?"

…

"Grams? Hello? Still waiting for answer here."

_You said you are willing to do this, correct? To save your friends._

Kira nodded, now getting impatient, but from Genkai's awkward pause she had a bad feeling.

_You must transfer your energy into his body…through the lips…_

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Now, time for the Halloween special! YAY! Be happy, very happy. (This has nothing to do with the real story.) It's my attempt to be funny so don't laugh (at me I mean…) and a tiny bit long awaited cuteness between Kira and Kurama.

**XXXXXX**

TRICK OR TREAT! Pt. 1 (part 2 will be up tomorrow as well as the next chapter )

"Halloween! It's Halloween!" Kira shouted at the top of her lungs while twirling around Kurama's room in her costume: her own version of a goth/punk Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland. Her black and red plaid skirt fluttered as she spun and her pigtails bounced as she put both hands on her head to keep her black top hat from falling off.

Kurama sat on his bed, staring at the bunny ears that lay on the other side, his eye twitching just from looking at it.

"Well, c'mon!" Kira urged as she stopped spinning. "Put them on! Yusuke and Kuwabara are wearing their costumes, why won't you wear yours?"

"Yusuke and Kuwabara got to pick what they wanted to be." Kurama replied solemnly, avoiding her stare.

Kira stood in front of him. "But when I asked you a week ago you said you didn't know what you wanted to be, so I decided that we would do something together. Doesn't that make it more fun? The March Hare and the Mad Hatter rock!" Kira picked up the bunny ears and gave Kurama her best puppy dog eyes. "It will be fun, please? Please? Please?"

Kurama rested his chin in his hand as a long silence came. He had never had an interest in Halloween, it was just a trivial 'holiday' to him. It wasn't even that big in Japan and even though Kira was excited he failed to see what was so great about it. She had already forced him into half of the costume already, but he stopped when he realized he would have to wear those bunny ears as well. Even though Kira did look cute in her outfit…he thought she would make the better rabbit.

Kira sat down next to Kurama, her bangs shadowing over her eyes. "So, you don't want to have fun with me?" She fingered the bunny ears in her hands.

Kurama turned his head towards her, she looked really crestfallen. "It's not that…I…" He felt himself blush as he tried to find the right words.

"Then what is it?" She asked, her voice quiet.

He raised his hand as if to put it on her shoulder in comfort, but he stopped it in midair. It was his fault she was upset now. How could he try to comfort her when she was now made at him? In his mind there was only one solution to the problem. "Kira?" He said hopefully.

"What?" She answered bitterly, her eyes still locked on the floor of his room.

"If you really want to, then I guess I…"

He didn't even finish his sentence when he saw her spring up and place the bunny ears on his head.

"I knew you'd come around!" She chirped happily, as she adjusted the ears. "This is going to be so much fun, wait until you see what Kuwabara is wearing. It's priceless!"

Kurama's face was blank for a few seconds until a realization hit him like a ton of bricks falling down from the sky and knocking him senseless in the head. "You tricked me didn't you?" He asked, grabbing her wrists gently to stop her while she was in the middle of putting the ears on his head.

Kira chuckled lightly at him. "Tricked is such an ugly word Kurama." She grinned devilishly at him.

"Then what do you call what you just did?"

"Dramatic persuasion." She winked at him before her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Will you let go of my wrists now?"

Slowly, he let go of her, while scolding himself. He should've expected this kind of random behavior from her. She was too cute and a too good of a convincing actress for her own good.

He stood up with his arms folded. "Where are the others?"

Kira pointed to the door of his room. "Downstairs craving pumpkins in the kitchen."

"And why are they doing this at my house?" Kurama asked sweatdropping.

"Because, we knew you wouldn't mind and all of us don't want our kitchens smelling like pumpkins for the next week or so." She said tilting her head to one side and smiling. In truth, she knew he would mind, but he was just so much fun too annoy like this. She turned on her heel and began walking towards the door.

"You think just because you're cute when you smile you can get away with these kinds of things?"

Kira looked over her shoulder at him. "As a matter of fact, yes." And with that, she preceded to flounce out of the room while laughing like a maniac leaving a dumbfounded Kurama alone in his room, who was feeling more and more ridiculous by the minute.

"She has no conscience…"

…

"Kuwabara! You're mutilating your pumpkin!"

"Am not! Why don't you look at your own? It has three eyes!"

"One of those is the mouth!"

"Well, it sure doesn't look like a frigging mouth to me!"

"Quit questioning my inner artistic genius and worry about your own stupid pumpkin idiot!"

"Hey…both of you…" Kira said stepping into the room in the middle of a frenzy of pumpkin seeds and goop being thrown back and forth like water balloons.

"WHAT?" Kuwabara and Yusuke yelled, seizing fire.

Kira paused before screaming loudly, "SHUT UP!" She ran a hand over her face after she saw the mess they had made in the kitchen. Kurama was going to be mad once he found out. If her found out. She heard his footsteps coming down the hallway slowly, as if he was dragging his feet.

Kira wrapped her arms around Yusuke and Kuwabara's neck and pulled their faces towards her. "Hey, dimwits. This isn't your house to mess up! You guys have to clean this up before Kurama sees and kills us all."

"But we're carving-"

Kira bonked both of them on their heads and pointed a finger at them. "Clean this up now! I'll distract Kurama!" As she turned to walk out she stopped and saw Yusuke's pumpkin. "And Yusuke, your pumpkin has three goofy looking eyes."

"The bottom one is the mouth! THE MOUTH!"

"What's with all the yelling?" Kurama said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"What yelling?" Kira asked virtuously and clasping her hands together.

"The yelling from the kitchen." He said peering over her head which was quite easy to do considering the harsh fact that she was barely 5'1".

"You were imagining things. Silly Kurama, his head is all messed up."

"I could've sworn…"

Kira latched onto his arm and pulled him towards the front door. "Nevermind your delusions Kurama. Halloween is about fun! We'll come back in an hour! Repeating, we'll be back in ONE HOUR so all messed should be clean unless you wish for a painful death!"

Kurama blinked. "What was that about?"

"Nothing, but we'll be back in ONE HOUR!" She repeated once more as they left the house.

"Geez," Yusuke grumbled. "Only one hour, huh? The mess you made it will take longer than that to clean up."

"Don't blame it all on me Urameshi! You're the one who threw the pumpkin seeds at me! It's not my fault your pumpkin has three eyes!"

"For the last time, IT'S A MOUTH!"

XXXXXX

Dc-chan: It's HALLOWEEN!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! CANDY ROCKS! COSTUMES ROCK! Be safe and don't take candy from strangers! Then again, all the people I get candy from are stranger so in that case…GET ALL THE CANDY YOU WANT!

NEXT CHAPTER: A Kiss Is A Kiss (even under desperate circumstances…)

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


	19. A Kiss Is A Kiss

I posted this yesterday, but I decided to revise it because I realized it sucked. So hopefully now, it's less sucky than before.

Dc-chan: BWUHAHAHAHA!!! Who else is on a sugar high from Halloween besides me?

Seraph: You're too old to be trick-or-treating…

MCT: Agreed.

Dc-chan: Growing old is inevitable, but growing up optional. Deal with it.

MCT: Dork.

Dc-chan: Anyway, this is a REALLY short chapter. In my outline, the fight with Zetsubou was only one chapter, but now it has separated into three. Hmm…curious, ne?

Disclaimer: I really, really don't own Yu Yu Hakusho because I'm not cool enough to. Like MCT said, I'm a dork. Sad, but so very true.

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 19 of Define 'Normal'

A Kiss Is A Kiss

Kira and Kuwabara's jaws dropped to the floor, their tongues rolling out of their mouths as they screamed in unison, "YOU'RE KIDDING!"

Hiei's eye twitched.

Yusuke's unconscious body (on the other side of the room, poor guy…) flinched.

She knew everyone in the room had heard it, just by their shocked reactions.

Kira's eyes slowly dropped their gaze to Kurama's face. He looked so peaceful and calm, like he had no idea that they were in a serious crisis here.

_Well? What are you waiting for?_

Kira's face, which was previously light pink, was now redder than a cherry red tomato. Her eyes wide like tea cup saucers and her lips forming a bewildered grimace.

_Well?_

Silence…

_Kira?_

Kira's brown eyes quivered slightly as they stayed focused on Kurama. She couldn't do that. That was way over the line!

_KIRA YOU NUMBSKULL! ANSWER ME DAMMIT!_

"I…can't…" Kira whispered almost inaudibly as her hands shook.

_And what the hell is stopping you?_

"I think what Kira is trying to say," Kuwabara said loudly, "is that she doesn't want to kiss Kurama."

_If it helps, don't call it a kiss._

"Then what should it be called?" Kuwabara demanded.

_Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is a good euphemism._

Kira shook her head. "I'm not doing it!" She looked at Kuwabara and pointed at him. "You do it!"

Kuwabara flailed his arms around in response like a mad man. "No way! I'm a guy! You do it!"

"I don't want to!"

"I don't want to either!"

_SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!_

Kira and Kuwabara ceased to argue at once and sat still, but glared at each other out of the corners of their eyes.

_Kira, you have to do it. Kuwabara doesn't have enough energy to bring out Youko, but you do._

Kira cringed inwardly. _I don't want to bring out Youko…_She recalled her little time traveling experience with him a shuddered. That perv almost had his way with her if it wasn't for the interruption by Hosaki informing him about the hunter. She really didn't want Youko to pick up where he left off there…especially since the first time she met him he said she was cute. It was a wonder how Kurama could keep such a powerful demon at bay.

_Kira? Are you listening to me?_

"Lalalalalala," Kira sang as she covered her ears with her hands. "I'm not hearing a word you're saying."

_YOU IDIOT! THIS IS TELEPATHY! COVERING YOUR EARS WON'T STOP YOU FROM HEARING ME!_

Kira lowered her hands. "Oh…that makes sense."

_So, will you do it?_

Kira fidgeted in place, heat rising to her face and her heart beginning to pound. Her eyes were on Kurama still and she couldn't help, but blush even more furiously than before. This was Kurama they were talking about, not some stranger, but still 'kissing' him was not something she planned on doing in a place like this.

"What's the big deal Kamiyama?" Kuwabara nagged, now egging her on. "It's just a kiss. It's not like it's your first."

Kira glowered darkly at Kuwabara for a second, an image of Rakura flashing before her eyes. "It will be my first willing one, but still…I don't have much of a choice now do I?" She paused and took a deep breath. "Alright, let's get this over with." She leaned down hesitantly, her face inching towards Kurama's until she was almost nose to nose with him. She could feel his warm breath against her lips and she almost withdrew in embarrassment, but she knew she couldn't. If this was the only way to save them, then she would have to grit her teeth and bare it. She glared at Hiei and Kuwabara, "You two look away!" She ordered.

"What? Why?" Kuwabara argued.

"Because, I don't want you two staring!"

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes! It does you pervert!"

"Who are you calling a pervert?"

"You, dumbass!"

Hiei turned his back on her, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes closed. "You don't need to make a scene like a two-year-old…stupid girl."

Kuwabara put his hands on his hips, but eventually turned around as well while muttering.

"Here it goes," Kira told herself quietly.

She put her hands on either side of his head to balance herself and keep herself from falling on top of her as she finally pressed her lips lightly against his. His lips were soft and had an odd sweet taste to them, which was something she didn't expect and something she thought was silly for her to notice so quickly.

She lowered her eyelids so her eyes were barely open until she finally closed them. Was it wrong to say that this felt right? Was it wrong for her to embrace these new feelings stirring within her so fast? This was a kiss, no doubt about it. Later she would say that she only did it to beat Zetsubou, but this wasn't just about transferring energy anymore, she was actually kissing him. And she was in heavenly bliss every second of it.

Kurama slowly regained consciousness, but he kept his eyes closed. He felt energy pulsing through his body like someone was giving him something similar to a blood transfusion, but with energy instead. It was then that he felt a slight pressure against his lips. He cracked open his emerald eyes a bit to see what was going on…

He was speechless, his eyes now fully open and a red tint glowing on his cheeks.

It was not everyday you wake up to find a girl kissing you. And not just any girl, but it was Kira. She was hovering over him, her body inches above his own and her lips against his softly, like a butterfly kiss. He felt like fire was coursing through his veins.

His mind drew up blank. What was she doing? What was she even thinking in a time like this?

He felt her place a hand against his cheek, still completely unaware that he was awake now.

Kurama didn't know what to do. His arms wouldn't move and his mouth wouldn't form any words of protest, not that he would protest against this.

Enfin, she pulled away gradually while opening her eyes. Her lips still tingling it was then she noticed he was awake.

How awkward…

She jerked back her hands and sat up so she wasn't leaning over him anymore, abashment and innocent shame written all over her flushed face.

"Kurama?" She blinked twice at him with her hands in her lap and speaking in an uncharacteristically shy voice.

Before Kurama could reply, he felt a weird familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Suddenly, white smoke shrouded the area like a thick fog.

Kuwabara waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey! I can't see!"

Usually, Kira would've said something along the line of "Welcome to the club, we have jackets!" or something witty like that, but she was still too stunned to speak. She put her hands on her cheeks and shook her head back and forth. _I did not just kiss him! I did not just kiss him! No, I refuse to believe that I did that!_

The mist dissipated then completely disappeared in a matter of seconds revealing (you guessed it) Youko. The demon's silver sheet of hair glowed despite the darkness of the room and his golden eyes seemed all the more striking.

"Well, well…" Youko said in his cold voice, his eyes locked on Zetsubou. "So you're the one who's been giving everyone trouble." He smirked darkly he then glanced over her shoulder at Kuwabara, Kira and Hiei. "You should take a step back, this might get messy."

Kuwabara grabbed Kira by the collar of her shirt and dragged her backwards. "Sure, no problem! Don't mind us!" He said nervously.

Youko returned his attention back to Zetsubou. "I guess I should finish with you before I deal with the girl."

Kira's ears perked up. "Huh?"

Youko chuckled sinisterly. "You might have erased Kurama's memories, but I assure you that mine are still perfectly intact Kira."

Kira pathetically tried to hid behind Kuwabara as to avoid being seen. _He remembers! Not good!_

"What is he talking about Kamiyama?" Kuwabara questioned curiously.

"Yes, I would also like to know." Hiei said coldly, his eyebrows raised as if expecting an answer.

Kira waved her hand in the air. "Frankly, that's none of your business." She then stuck her tongue out at them.

"I wouldn't do that unless you want me to cut it off." Hiei warned, showing her his broken blade. Despite the fact that the blade had been snapped in half, it was still very sharp.

Kira giggled neurotically. "Sorry, Hiei."

_Youko will be able to take care of this. _Genkai reassured them in a soothing yet raspy voice.

"I sure hope you're right, Grams."

…in a dark room somewhere far away…

Takuto shifted in the wooden chair, the ropes around his wrists chaffing his wrists so they were bloody and raw. His purple eyes flashing angrily. "So, what are you planning to do Kokuei?"

The Sage of Shadows hardly even glanced back at the boy, but smirked cruelly with his back to him as he watched the fight on a large crystal ball that was hovering in front of them. "You should be more concerned about yourself than them. The only reason you exist is because of me. Don't you think it's strange that you and Kira share the same birthday?"

Takuto gritted his teeth. "What are you implying you sick freak? How long do you think it will take them to figure it out that you had this entire plan set up and Zetsubou is your stupid little puppet just so you could get closer to Kira?" He demanded at the top of his lungs.

"You seem to share the same familiarity with this girl that I do. Isn't that strange?"

Takuto didn't answer, but he narrowed his eyes.

"Besides, they don't even care about you. While they were distracted they didn't even notice that I took you and Sega away from right under their noses." Kokuei said with amusement. Kokuei's eyes shifted to the little Guardian of Time who was standing silently in the corner watching them with his eyes glazed over.

"I didn't expect them too." Takuto grumbled. He knew they didn't like him from the start.

"But what's important is that you are here now."

"You think you're going to get away with this?" Takuto arched an eyebrow resentfully.

"Perhaps, I don't know everything, but I'm counting on it." The demons snickered.

"So, why do you need me?" Takuto asked fuming.

"Like I said you and Kira have the same birthday, fifteen-and-a-half years ago you both were born on the same day…the day that Kokoro and part of myself died. You didn't know that did you?" He paused and finally faced Takuto, he bent down so he was face-to-face with his captive. "That means you are part of me, my good half you could say, but I'm afraid in order to win Kira's heart…I'm going to need that part of me back."

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: ZOMG PLOT TWISTS! My brain is crazy that's why all these things make sense to me. I'll probably explain everything later, but it's almost midnight now so I don't really care. Now, time for the 2nd part of the Halloween story! There will be a part 3 because I'm too lazy and tired to write it all now. Besides, most of my effort was put into writing the actual story chapter than this.

**XXXXXX**

TRICK OR TREAT! PT.2

"Where are we going?" Kurama asked, wishing to take off the bunny ears.

"Just walking around." Kira replied smiling brightly at him. Her right arm was intertwined around his arm as she forcefully marched him forward…away from his house and the mess in the kitchen that hopefully Yusuke and Kuwabara would have cleaned up by the time they went back.

They walked down the street in silence. It was almost evening as the sun was starting to set, lighting up the sky with vibrant colors. There were hardly any pumpkins out on doorsteps as Halloween wasn't a very big holiday in their city, but some people had decorated their houses with spider webs. Kira grinned, Halloween had always been her favorite holiday next to Christmas.

She beamed up at Kurama. "In New York, where I lived, everyone got really into Halloween. People would decorate their apartment doors, there were streamers, haunted houses, costume contests and all these really cool things."

Kurama raised an eyebrow, but smiled back. She looked so cute when she was excited. "Do you miss it there?"

"Kind of…but I have friends over here so I guess if given the choice I would stay here than go back." Kira said bluntly.

"Really?"

Kira nodded than twisted Kurama's arm. "Besides, you guys are so much fun to mess around with."

Kurama maneuvered out of her grip skillfully and laughed as she stared blankly at him, trying to process just how exactly he escaped her grasp.

"How'd you do that?"

"Magic."

"Seriously. Tell me."

"No, it's much more fun making you whine about it."

Kira punched his arm in a similar way a little sister would punch her teasing older brother. "Do you want me to tackle you in the middle of the street and force it out of you?"

"Not really…" Kurama sweatdropped while putting his hands in his jacket pockets and walking away from her in the direction of his house.

"Hey!" Kira shouted running after him, but almost tripping over the cracks in the sidewalk as she did so. "Get back here! You can't go back just yet! Yusuke and Kuwabara aren't done cleaning up the…" She instantly put her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from saying anything more.

Kurama froze mid stride. "What did you say?"

Kira chuckled nervously. "Hehe, should I start running now before you force it out of me?"

"That would be wise."

"Can I have a three second head start?"

"No."

"In that case…" Kira instantly turned on her heel and sprinted down the sidewalk as fast as she could. She didn't want to be the one to explain to Kurama that their two stupid friends trashed his kitchen while carving pumpkins.

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Such a short chapter. Tsk, tsk. Oh well. Next update will probably be this weekend since I have nothing better to do except watch the…CAL VS. UCLA FOOTBALL GAME! GO BEARS!

NEXT CHAPTER: The Toughest Sacrifice

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

Halloween was great, but I have a feeling that next year will be even better! OXO

p.s. I imagine during that whole talk with Genkai and kiss scene Zetsubou must be a very patient person. That or he's staring at them like this oo; WTF? Thinking about it makes me laugh.


	20. Death of The Puppet And Sacrifice

I rewrote this chapter like 5 times and it's still as long as hell…over 6500 words…LONGEST CHAPTER YET!!!

**ON NOVEMBER 14th IT HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE I STARTED WRITING ABOUT KIRA AND HER WACKY ADVENTURES WITH THE YYH CREW!!! HUZZAH!**

Another thing, somehow I have been persuaded (more like forced by my extremely tall and intimidating friend) into playing JV Basketball, so that's four practices a week (2 hours each) plus two games…usually. So that's six days a week for the next three months. So my life goes with the following equation:

JV Basketball plus homework plus studying plus English assigned readings equals me having no life (and late updates so work with me here people…what the hell did I get myself into?)

Moving on…

Let's see if we can break the 200 review mark in the next few chapters, shall we? That will certainly cheer me up.

Disclaimer: After 19 chapters and a previous story consisting of 31 chapters, this should be painfully obvious, but a simple don't own so don't sue shall suffice.

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. Oct 22 2006

**WARNING:** Kira cries a lot in this chapter (that's a bit OOC for her, though…what can I say? She's been through a lot.)

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 20 of Define 'Normal'

Death of The Puppet And Sacrifice (modified chapter title)

"They'll see right through you, you deceitful bastard!" Takuto cursed, struggling against the rope that bound his ankles and wrists together.

Kokuei placed a hand on Sega's shoulder, his devilish smirk still on his face. He faced Takuto, his eyebrows raised in a dark amusement. "I'm hoping by that point it will be too late. You see, Kira trusts me now more than ever and she's a stubborn girl so I doubt she will even believe the others if they suspect anything." He waved a hand in the air, summoning up a dark portal. "Now excuse me, I've got a few more things to take care off, but I'll be back to deal with you." After one last cocky grin aimed at Takuto he and Sega walked into the darkness.

…

Kira's brain was malfunctioning, if that's even possible. Her hands were shaking, her heart pounding, her eyes twitching, it was true she was in shock from seeing Youko again so soon (and hearing his bold statement), but she still felt an adrenaline rush after kissing Kurama. After her thoughts arranged themselves in her head, she slowly touched her index and middle fingers to her lips and blushed furiously. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that, right now she had to hope that Youko would win and somebody would detain him while she ran as fast as she could away from the perverted fox.

Youko glanced out of the corners of his golden eyes at her.

"Eep!" Kira squeaked as she tried even harder to hide behind Kuwabara. _Pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert!_

Kuwabara and Hiei, in a rare once in a lifetime event, exchanged suspicious stares before realizing that they hated each other and turned away pouting.

Youko flipped his silvery sheet of hair over his shoulder. His eyes glinted in excitement. _It's been a while since the last time I've been out. Heh, looks like that girl is responsible for the transformation though. I suppose she has to be useful for something. _

Zetsubou stood his ground, appearing not threatened by Youko's presence. "Now things shall get more interesting." His voice hinted excitement.

The fox flashed his fangs and his shoulder hunched forward as he began laughing. "You have no idea what you're in for, do you?" Youko put a hand on his hip. "You shouldn't underestimate your opponents just because you beat Yusuke and Hiei so easily. I guarantee you, that I'm far beyond their level."

"Do your worst kitsune."

Youko smiled as a bright red aura began surrounding him. The ground beneath their feet trembled as dark green vines burst through the stone floor and jutted out everywhere. They wrapped themselves around Zetsubou's arms and legs and lifted him into the air.

"Why isn't he fighting back?" Kuwabara asked with wide eyes. "Those vines are going to tear him limb from limb."

Kira didn't say anything, but she had a hunkering feeling that Zetsubou might be a sadist masochist. He seemed totally unfazed by pain most of the time.

"You're making this too easy." Youko sneered snapping his fingers.

The vines began pulling on Zetsubou's limbs and at the same time they were tightening around him as well. Their thorns digging into his cloak until finally piercing his flesh beneath the thick fabric. Blood trickled down the plants like streams coming winding down from the tops of mountains. In a few more seconds a sickly popping sound could be heard as the vines tore his arms and legs out of their sockets. Blood gushed out of the wounds like torrents of rain and his body fell to the floor.

Kira shut her eyes to avoid seeing the scene. Youko's fighting tactics and brutality made her sick to her stomach as the smell of blood flooded her nostrils nearly making her gag.

At this point, it would be assumed that he was dead, but this was Zetsubou and so therefore he was still alive.

His maniacal laughter bounced off the walls as his bloody limbs lay in various places on the floor and a ocean of blood formed beneath his body. "You are indeed the thief of legend, Youko. Cut throat, merciless and vicious to the bone, but my death is nothing compared to the horror you will soon face."

Youko walked over to him, not even caring about the feeling of the lukewarm blood against his feet. He grabbed Zetsubou by the hood and lifted his stubby body up. "You're hiding something aren't you, you worthless puppet?"

"Many things actually." Zetsubou said bemused. "Your heads would spin with the secrets I could reveal to you. I let you transform so we could see your full power."

"We?" Youko didn't look amused, his face deadly serious. _This is an unexpected development._

Kira and Kuwabara edged closer slowly to try and overhear the conversation.

"It's amusing how all of you pour your whole hearts into one thing without thinking that there might be an even greater power behind it." Zetsubou cackled madly.

"I've heard enough out of you." Youko commented, his eyes narrowed as her shoved a seed through Zetsubou's body, plunging his hand through the chest to place the seed in the cloaked enigma's heart and ignoring all the blood that was pouring out.

Kira winced at the sight of more blood. "You think he could be more settle about it."

Kuwabara's hand was over his mouth. "If you think that's gross Kamiyama you should look away right now." He grabbed Kira's shoulder and turned her around just as Youko dropped the body onto the ground, Kuwabara put his hand over Kira's eyes.

A second later, flowers drenched in blood protruded from Zetsubou's dead body like a small red garden.

Kira pried Kuwabara's hand off of her face. "Hey! Don't do that!" She turned around on her heel, completely unaware of the sight she was about to see. She froze instantly, halfway turned around. Her hands hung limply at her sides. Her brown eyes slowly trailed upwards until they were locked onto Youko's golden eyes.

"Kamiyama, I told you not to look!"

Ever since her deaths, she had been skittish about such violent deaths and seeing so much blood. It really had been a while and this seemed to bring back all of those painful memories. The Iron Maiden, the strings that cut into her skin, the scars of the scratch marks on her back from over six months ago…she winced as violent images flashed before her eyes. She had seen demons be killed before, but why was this one any different? But there was something else bothering her, something that was bringing her close to tears.

Youko tilted his head to one side, his eyes still hardened. He could the girl was reacting badly, words didn't need to communicate that. He growled to himself, it seemed that Kurama's feelings for her were affecting him as well. That wasn't good, had he gotten so weak as to sympathize for a human girl? Also the fact that they had been counting on the transformation also ticked him off. He turned his face away so she was staring at his profile.

Kira took a step back and clutched Kuwabara's sleeve as her eyes welled up with tears.

"Kamiyama…?" Kuwabara blinked twice as he looked down at her, unsure of how and why his friend was reacting this way.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she then flung her arms around Kuwabara's midsection and cried into his chest.

Kuwabara raised his hands up. "What's wrong?" He stuttered. This was not the Kira he knew and he knew her pretty well.

Kira's hands grabbed onto the fabric of his school uniform, her red bangs hanging over her eyes so no one could see she was crying, but it was obvious she was. _I want Youko to go away. I want…I want Kurama back._ Though she couldn't will herself to say those words. However, she wasn't sure why that wish was making her cry so hard. Maybe it was because they had been separated for so long and she knew that he wouldn't be giving her that cold glare that Youko gave her. It could be presumed now that Youko wasn't as big as a pervert as she thought he was, he just acted that way to hide his ruthlessness.

Kuwabara, while sweatdropping and blushing a bit, put his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to try and comfort her. "C'mon, cheer up. The bad guy is dead now."

The word dead only made Kira cry harder.

Kuwabara lowered his eyelids. "C'mon Kamiyama, what's wrong?"

Kira sniffed and rubbed her red nose with her hand as she stepped away from him. "Sorry, Kuwabara. I think I got snot on your uniform." Her eyes were red and puffy and felt sticky.

Kuwabara instantly jumped away from her and flailed his arms around. "Don't give me your germs! I thought you were really upset!" He examined the wet spot on his shirt that was damp from Kira's tears. "Eww, there is snot on it!"

"Jerk…" Kira said rubbing her eyes, now summoning the courage to face Youko. She balled her hands into fists and took a deep breath, fighting back tears, and walked up to him. She ignored the mangled body as she passed it, but her feet splashed in the blood sending shivers up her spine. Finally, she stopped in front of Youko who was still avoiding her gaze. "Youko…"

"Wha-"

"Fluffy tail!" She squealed tugging on his tail and cuddling it next to her face. The fuzzy hairs tickled her face as she hugged it tightly. (A/N: Mood swings oo; they're scary, ne?)

He pulled his tail out of her grip, which was surprisingly hard considering she wasn't a normal girl with normal strength. "What do you want?" He demanded in such a stern and scary voice that it would make Kami-sama piss his pants.

Kira let out a whimper of complaint before lowering her eyelids again, her previous emotions resurfacing. She put her hands behind her back and lowered her head, but her shimmering brown eyes were still intently focused up at Youko. "I was wondering, can we have Kurama back now?"

Youko chuckled darkly at her request. He leaned down and cupped her chin in his hands. "Why? Don't you find this form more appealing?" He put one arm around her waist and pulled her in against his chest, which was covered in Zetsubou's blood, but still kept one of his hands under her chin to keep her looking up at him.

"No…" She shook her head. She put her hands against his chest and tried to push herself away from him, but she was too emotionally drained and weak to summon up enough strength.

"ACK! He's molesting her!" Kuwabara shouted with a horrified look on his face.

"You don't know do you?" Hiei sighed heavily.

"Know what?"

"That Youko, aside from being a mastermind thief, was also known as one of the biggest playboys in Makai." Hiei replied curtly.

"WHAT? HE NEEDS TO GET HIS HANDS OFF OF KAMIYAMA THEN!" Kuwabara yelled like a protective older brother.

Hiei snorted. "Youko's just playing with her, he doesn't mean anything by it."

"I don't think Kamiyama knows that." Kuwabara said pointing at the poor girl who was blushing madly in Youko's arms.

With all this chaos and yelling, nobody noticed a dark portal on the other side of the room had opened that a somber Kokuei and gloomy Sega walked out of. Their absence obviously going unnoticed to all. (Or so Kokuei thought…)

Kokuei's eye twitched slightly at the sight of what Youko was doing to Kira, but held his tongue. Speaking now might ruin everything and blow his cover and his plan. All of which was going over more smoothly then he could ever imagine. He eyed Zetsubou's corpse and hid a grin, Youko had succeeded in killing his puppet. Kurama was indeed going to be a worthy adversary when the time came…

Youko snaked his arm up Kira's back and placed his hand on the back of her neck. He tilted his head down and licked her cheek making her squirm uncomfortably. "You know you owe me for saving your life and there was that thing that we never got to finish because we were so rudely interrupted."

_Stop it._

Youko's ear pricked up at the sound of that voice inside his head. _Ah, Kurama. I was wondering when your consciousness was going to wake up. I see you don't like me having a little fun with your friend here. She's gotten quite pretty, hasn't she? _Youko grinned from ear to ear as he let his hand slip down to Kira's waist.

_Don't touch her._

_Why not? It's not like she's yours._ He stroked Kira's bottom lip with his thumb.

_Just stop it. You just brutally killed your opponent in front of her; this is too much for her to handle._

Kira closed her eyes as Youko hugged her, pressing her body against his against her will.

_Stop! What are you doing?_

_You know, she asked me to change back into you. I wonder…maybe she loves you too, but doesn't realize it. That must be hard for you. Then again, if she doesn't accept me as part of you then she never will truly love you. You can't only love half of who a person is. _

_Pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert, pervert…_the word swam continuously in Kira's mind, around and around in circles making her dizzy until her eyes were big swirls and little yellow birdies flew about her dazed head.

"So, you want me to change back?" Youko asked her smugly.

Kira's voice was gone so all she did was nod slightly into his chest.

Youko cupped her face in his hands as he leaned down, his warm breath against her lips. "There's a condition though."

"Mm…what?" Kira replied, now awaking to her senses.

"You have to kiss me."

"Hu? WHAAAAT?" Kira used her arms to push herself away from him. When there was three feet between them Kira's eyes went from surprise to fury. "Listen here pal! I'm tired of putting up with your unfulfilled sexual crap! When I say I want Kurama back you better fricking change back into him before I knee you in the groin! Is that clear? Or does you libido interfere with your hearing?" She put her hands on her hip as she stared him down, getting angrier by the second.

Youko folded his arms across his chest. "You know, if you said something like that to me a couple of centuries ago I would've killed you on the spot. He sure is rubbing off on me. He gains a little bit of my power every time we transform and what do I get?- his human emotions. What a lousy trade."

Kira arched an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"His emotions are affecting me, that's why I have a keen interest in you." Youko sighed heavily. _A lousy trade indeed, but it's something I have no control over._

Kira blinked, not completely understanding what the devious fox demon in front of her was saying, but she still retained her angry demeanor. "Change back, now!" She demanded, pointing her index finger at him like she had all the authority in the world.

He stood there, his eyes looking at her unblinking. The nerve some people had. Youko grabbed her wrist and tugged her towards him. "You're forgetting my condition." He said pinning her arms at her sides and before Kira could even begin to protest, he claimed her lips with his own. Youko ignored Kira's silent disapproval and his human half roaring in his head as he continued to kiss her.

Kira made it clear with her tensed muscles that she was extremely uncomfortable with this show of 'affection', if it could be called that. She closed her eyes, waiting for it to end. This had to be a nightmare and she was going to wake up in her bed like nothing ever happened. Yeah, right. That's what she wanted to convince herself. It was one thing to travel back in time (like her mother would believe her?) but it was another thing to be kissed by the most infamous thief in Makai who just so happened to share a body with your best friend.

Youko deepened the kiss, enjoying the response he was getting out of her. Her lips tasted saccharine as he gently nibbled on her bottom lip. She tried to pull back, startled by his actions, but he held her still. Playing with humans was indeed fun.

_What are you doing?_ Kurama demanded his temper on the brink of losing control.

_If you want to step in all you have to do is ask._Youko teased back.

_That's not what I'm saying._

Kira's heartbeat was erratic, like it was going to burst through her rib cage. How could he stir these unwanted feelings within her?

Suddenly the kiss softened and was less forceful.

She opened one of her eyes and instantly the other one snapped wide open when she found that it wasn't Youko who she was kissing anymore, it was Kurama. The tricky bastard had transformed back in the middle of it while she had been too preoccupied to notice! She felt one of his hands wrap around her waist while the other entwined with her hair, pulling her closer to himself until there was no room between them and they were crushed up against each other.

Kira fidgeted, hoping Kurama would notice the distress she was in or that he would realize what he was doing. Her heart ached, as much as she liked Kurama, she wasn't ready for this especially after all that had happened.

She felt a wave of relief when he finally withdrew. She exhaled heavily as she took a step back from him, her face flushed like a beet. Once again her fingers went to her lips, the taste of his lips still on hers.

Kurama's arms fell to his sides, his eyebrows were raised and he had an innocent dazed expression on his face. Kira was looking at him like she hadn't seen him in years and as though he committed soon terrible crime, but was too stunned to speak or yell at him. He tried to think about the situation reasonably in his head, but no answer was coming to him. All he remembered was arguing with Youko then all of a sudden Kira was standing in front of him looking a little frightened and put off at the same time. He mentally groaned. What mess had Youko gotten him into this time?

"Kira?" He said softly, taking a step towards her and raising a hand towards her.

She directed her eyes elsewhere with her hands clinging to the hem of her shirt. "What?" She answered in a sulky tone.

He lowered his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry about Youko, sometimes I don't have control over his actions."

Kira sighed and tilted her head to one side, but still refused to have eye contact with him. "It's alright, just make sure it doesn't happen ever again or I'll pluck every single hair from his tail." She said the last part cheerily in a lame effort to lighten the tension that was in the room.

Kurama forced a chuckle. "I'll…try." Now this was awkward. Part of him didn't understand why she was acting like this after all, hadn't she just kissed him willingly no less than twenty minutes ago?

Kira turned towards Kuwabara and Hiei. "Thanks guys." She muttered at him.

"For what?" Kuwabara asked shrugging. "We didn't do anything."

"That's precisely my point…" Kira grumbled, hunching her shoulders over. She then spied Kurama was still staring at her and instantly smiled brightly. "I'm glad you're back with us Kurama!"

_She's terrible at hiding her feelings. _Kurama told himself as he noted her goofy smile directed at him which was underlying hinted at how insecure she was feeling right now.

Kira and Kurama somehow managed to lock eyes before turning away the next second, both blushing furiously.

"What was that?" Kuwabara said coming up to Kurama.

"I don't know." Kurama said, almost at a loss for words. "I don't really have any control of Youko when I transform, but maybe I should start working on that so an incident like this doesn't repeat itself."

"That would be wise," Hiei mutter under his breath while still keeping his distance.

Kira picked her head up and stared at her friends. "So, what do we do now?"

Kokuei took this as his cue to step in. "We need to make sure what happened never happens again."

They all turned to face the demon, some with questioning stares.

Kira noticed Kuwabara's clueless face. "Don't you remember what happened?" She asked sweatdropping as she mentally recalled the inside of his mind.

"Not a thing." He grunted bluntly. "Why? What happened?"

"Well…" Kira started carefully, "Zetsubou went back in time and fixed all of our pasts so none of us would be friends. Kokuei and I went back in time with Sega to fix everyone's past and I guess everything's turned out alright because we're still together now."

Kurama arched an eyebrow, "You went back in time with him?"

"Yeah…" She nodded slowly. "Kokuei was really helpful."

"You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Kokuei probed, knowing full well that Kurama held much resentment towards him. "After all, you and the others were indisposed of at this time so it's not like you could have helped her."

_He's trying to get under my skin,_ Kurama thought to himself. _I won't give him that satisfaction. _"Why weren't you 'indisposed' of, surely Zetsubou would've thought you were a threat?" Kurama questioned with a poker face.

"He probably didn't think I was a big enough one." Kokuei shrugged in response. "Or maybe he didn't know about me. I honestly don't know."

"That's a possibility, but I have a more interesting theory behind this." Kurama said putting his hands in his pockets. "Maybe the reason Zetsubou went into the past wasn't to break up our friendship, but to strengthen your bond with Kira. I gather you spent quite a lot of time with her because of this."

"What are you suggesting?" Kokuei asked darkly, his dark eyes narrowed.

"That you planned all of this just to get closer to Kira."

Kokuei snorted. "Why would I go through all this trouble? It's Kokoro I love, not her."

"Young men's love then lies, not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes," Kurama recited for him from memory. "That's a famous quote from Romeo and Juliet. I think even you can understand what it means."

"You're accusing me then? Hmm, you're right, it is just a theory." Kokuei shot back through gritted teeth.

"The thing about a theory is that it might be true unless proven false-"

Kira stepped in-between and outstretched her arms to put her hands on Kurama's chest to stop him and to create distance between him and Kokuei. "Okay now, cool down both of you. No one's accusing anyone and besides six months ago, Kokuei apologized to me and I believe he was being sincere. He said he wouldn't hurt me anymore and I trust that. He worked really hard to help me, to help us."

Kurama sighed heavily. "Alright." _You trust him too much, I'm going to have to keep a close eye on you to make sure he doesn't try anything._

"I'm not asking you to trust him like I do, but just don't play the blame game right now. We're all tired, we should leave." Kira said.

"There's one more thing to take care of though." Kokuei said sidestepping to reveal that Sega was standing behind him the whole time. "We need to insure this never happens again."

"Sega!" Kira squealed as she hugged the little spirit child.

Sega smiled cutely. "Hello, Kira-neesan." (Big sister)

"AWW!!! YOU'RE TOO CUTE!!! I would baby-sit you any day!" Kira said nuzzling his cheek.

"The Guardian of Time?" Kuwabara scratched his temple with his index finger.

"Yes," Kokuei said coolly, "this is him."

"How do you recommend we take these precautions?" Hiei said leaning back against the wall.

Kokuei's eyes looked down at Kira and Sega. "We need to kill Sega."

Kira's body froze and she gaped at Kokuei. "WHAT?" She hugged Sega tighter.

Sega raised his arms and placed his hands over Kira's while receding from her. "It's alright, we talked about it. It's for the best. I don't want to cause you any more problems."

"But you're not!" Kira argued. "You don't have to die!"

"I'm a danger to you and your friends." Sega explained quietly.

"But-" Kira said balling her fists and fighting back another onslaught of tears.

Kurama put his hand on Kira's shoulder. "As much as I hate to admit it, it might be for the best. And it's not as though he will actually die, he's already a spirit."

"It will be fine Kira-neesan." Sega reassured her gently.

She stood up and hugged herself. "Sega…"

Kokuei waved his hand and a dark portal appeared at his side. "Here, you should leave Kira. You don't have to watch this. You've been through enough today."

Kira bit her bottom lip. This wasn't fair! Why should Sega have to die? Kira reluctantly walked through the portal as a dark cloud swirled in her mind. Part of her assured her it was for the best while the other part screamed that she shouldn't let this happen. She hated feeling so selfish.

"Are you guys leaving too?" Kokuei asked Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara.

Kuwabara picked up Yusuke and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of flour. "Yeah, I am."

Kokuei watched intently as the three of them left through his portal which immediately closer afterwards. "Kurama almost caught onto me there. I was almost a bit worried."

"It was an elaborate plan." Sega acknowledged. "But kitsune are quite sharp, ne?"

Kokuei placed a hand on Sega's head. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Thanks for the help, kid." Kokuei said, a shadow falling over his eyes. "When I bring back Kokoro's memories and put them in Kira I'll be sure to tell her how helpful you were in reuniting us."

Sega's light eyes glazed over. "Kokoro-neesan…" He said affectionately just as Kokuei snapped his neck with a sickening crunch sound. His limp body fell to the floor, the light faded from his eyes.

Just then three cloaked figures appeared behind Kokuei.

"You were successful, Kokuei-sama." Kurushimi said in his low voice. "Youko killed your puppet without a problem."

"We're going to have to be more careful, that kitsune is onto me." Kokuei noted solemnly. His eyes flashed. "Ranmyaku and Atsureki, are the next stages of my plan set up? Have you found IT yet?"

"Almost, we need a bit more time. Our leads aren't being very cooperative." Atsureki said showing him the blood on he hands. "Until then I suggest it wise that you stay put."

"I will…" he glanced down at Sega's dead body, "after I found out how Kira feels about me then I'll retreat into the shadows until everything is set up and you find that artifact."

…

Kira flopped down on her bed feeling completely drained while she held the phone up to her ear.

Brrrrinnng…

"Come on, pick up. I'm too tired to try telepathy now." Kira said to herself.

Brrriinnng…

She had been home for almost four hours now, it was well past midnight and her mom was already asleep. It was like she hadn't even been gone in the first place judging by the way her mother greeted her when Kurama and the others dropped her off.

Kira put her hand over her forehead before running it through her hair in frustration. "Pick up dammit."

Click…

"Hello?" A shy voice on the other end of the receiver said.

"Ah, Yukina-chan." Kira said sheepishly, "Could you put Genkai on the phone?"

"Sure, Kira." She paused. "One moment…"

Kira tapped her fingers against her comforter impatiently while waiting for her grandmother. She needed to talk to someone who would have a different perspective on what had unfolded today. Somebody who was wise and could help Kira mull things over. It was times like these that Kira wished Koenma had psychologists and therapists for his Spirit Detectives. The mental strain was hard enough without having to deal with your crappy emotions.

"Ah, Kira." Genkai's raspy voice said on the other line.

"Hey." Kira said rubbing her eyes. "Sorry for calling so late, I probably woke you and Yukina up."

"Actually, no. I knew you were going to call. What is it you want to talk about?"

"Why do you think I want to talk about something?" Kira pouted.

"What else could you be calling for at this time of night? Surely you don't want me to tell you bedtime stories."

"Ahaha, you're a riot. I just wanted to ask you some questions that's all."

"Shot."

"I'm guessing you probably know what happened today so I'm not going to talk about that, but I do have a question…are you sure you don't know anything about my dad?"

Genkai exhaled deeply. "No, I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay…another question though. Do you think I should trust Kokuei?"

"What do your instincts tell you? I know I didn't train an idiot."

"I'm not sure, I'm torn between him and Kurama…"

"Well, you might just have to wait things out or look deeper in yourself for the answer."

Kira scrunched her nose disdainfully. "I guess…I kinda had a feeling you would say that, but I hate waiting things out."

…

Kurama turned on his side in his bed, beads of sweat rolling down his temple. He just couldn't sleep that night, there was an unsettling pit in his stomach that was bugging him. Something seemed wrong, but what? After the recent events he knew it was only natural to be on edge, but why was he this stressed out? It might have been his interaction with Kokuei. He told himself he wouldn't let him get under his skin, but he somehow did. Kurama couldn't shake this feeling that his theory was right. If Kokuei had been involved then why didn't he just kill them? The answer was obvious, Kira would hate him for it.

Kurama put his hands behind his head as he turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. His thoughts shifting to Kira and the two kisses they had shared that day. Had they really happened? Yes, they had and judging by Kira's reaction she had not been ready for it. Despite how tough she acted she was quite the emotional girl. His heart beat harder just thinking about, but she wasn't ready for this kind of relationship with him.

He felt his eyelids getting heavier and decided it would be best to think about this some more in the morning.

Just as he was about to fall asleep a realization struck him.

He bolted up into a sitting position. Why didn't he realize it before? How could he have missed it?

"Takuto…he didn't come back with us. He wasn't there at all."

**XXXXXX**

TRICK OR TREAT pt3 (I know Halloween was a while ago, but I don't care…put that into your pipe and smoke it!-and it's short…)

"Does it taste good?"

"Yeah…it's a bit sticky though…"

"Of course it's sticky, hold it like that. There you go…don't try to cram it all in your mouth. It would be bad if you choked to death."

"I'm not kitsune! Stop telling me how to do it! I know what I'm doing…I've done this a million times before."

"Well, it seems like your first time to me…"

"Mmm…mmm…this is good." Kira said biting into the apple slice she had dunked into the caramel. "It's so sweet. Try some!" She said pushing the plate of apple slices and pot of caramel towards him with a cheery smile.

He reached out and took a piece and dipped it into the caramel upon her request and took a bit. He munched on it for a few seconds before swallowing. "This is good."

"I told you, caramel apples go great with Halloween, ne?"

"I don't know about that, but it's delicious."

The caramel that was on the piece of apple that Kira was holding dripped onto the kitchen countertop again. "Opps. My mom's gonna kill me when she sees all this caramel everywhere." She laughed as she took another bite.

"So, why are we at your house again?" Kurama asked finishing his slice.

"Because we have caramel and apples here!" Kira said throwing her hands into the air.

Kurama leaned his elbow on the counter and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "I see…"

"What?" Kira blinked innocently.

"You're acting suspicious."

"I'm not!"

Kurama kept staring at her until she fidgeted in her seat.

"Then let's go back to my house." He suggested trying to gauge her reaction.

Kira's face paled and she waved her hands frantically in front of her. "No, no, no!"

"I think we should," Kurama said grabbing her by her shirt collar and dragging her out of her house.

"NOOOOO THE CARAMEL!!!" Kira cried as she grabbed onto the front doorway, however her fingers couldn't keep their grip and slipped off the wood frame.

…twenty minutes later at Kurama's…

"I told you two to clean this up!" Kira shouted at a cackling Kuwabara and Yusuke.

Kuwabara's cute kitty costume was covered in pumpkin slop with one of the eyes ripped out. Yusuke was gripping his sides while laughing hysterically and looking quit silly in his pirate costume covered in pumpkinseeds.

"Stop laughing and start cleaning!" Kira demanded, however any authority she had over the two was already lost the minute she stepped into the kitchen and slipped on some pumpkin slop on the tile, landing not so gracefully on her butt which was now covered in the light orange gunk.

"Whatever you say Pumpkin Butt!" Yusuke replied in-between his gasps of laughter.

"You have to clean to!" Kuwabara said throwing a mop at Kira who caught it in one hand.

"I know, I know…" she grumbled staring at Kurama out of the corners of her eyes. "Is it too late to apologize?"

"No," Kurama said, "but if you want my mother to still be under the impression that you're a nice decent girl this kitchen should be cleaned. It won't clean itself."

Kira stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine."

"Afterwards, I was thinking however…"

"What?" Kira asked sulkily as she started mopping the floor.

"We could have caramel apples."

Kira almost hit Yusuke in the head with the mop when she spun around quickly upon hearing those words, her eyes all starry looking. "Really?"

"Yes, once you're done."

"OKAY! WORK! WORK! WORK!" Kira chanted zooming around the kitchen mopping the floor like a maniac.

"Oh and Yusuke," Kurama said, "your pumpkin-"

"I know, I know! It had three eyes, right?" Yusuke retorted.

"Well, no…I was going to say it's quite…artistic…"

Yusuke and Kuwabara face vaulted as Kurama chuckled. This had been a very interesting Halloween indeed.

OWARI!!! (END)

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: I've gone back and looked at all my chapters and realized I've made Kurama a little too mean towards Kira at times, I wonder why nobody else complains or points out the OOCness, but I've also been told that Kira and Kurama play off of each other nicely. She's an emotional girl, he's pretty stoic, she's obnoxious, he's a smarty pants, etc. I don't know why that was bugging me, it just was for some reason. I need to give Kuwabara and Yusuke bigger roles, they've just been sitting in a corner collecting dust so I'm feeling guilty and Hiei, well…I think I did the right thing by having him hate Kira.

NEXT CHAPTER: Her Choice Between Demons

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

**RANDOM NONSENSE**: Upon reading Rock My World again, I found many plot holes and inconsistencies with this story (plus numerous grammar mistakes and spelling errors, hehe…opps). So, here's a small list of my stupidity.

In Rock My World I said Kokoro died centuries ago, but last chapter I said fifteen-and-a-half years…I'll have to fix that.

In chapter 22, I wrote she had things that belonged to her father including the key to Kokuei's diary. Why did her father have the key? (I can't remember why I did that, but later on in this story I think I'll explain why. It's just hard to make sense of that because Kokuei killed her father…)

I don't think this is quite a plot hole, but it definitely needs to be resolved: Enshoku (Kira's grandfather) is the son of Raizen, but the impact of this information is minimal due to the fact that the Makai Tournament hasn't taken place yet. Which also means, she and Yusuke are kinda related…an idea, which is hard for me to grasp yet amusing at the same time. She has too many family ties. Don't look at me like that! I was 14 when I thought of this story!

I said Kira wouldn't be paired with a main character, but things appeared to have changed magically once reviewers told me she and Kurama were cute together. (Someone even asked for a lemon scene…WAY TOO EARLY FOR THAT! I remember being disturbed by that comment for months.)

I had originally planned for Suzume to have a MUCH BIGGER role, but as I started writing things I realized that I have too many OCs as it is and I wanted to focus on the development or stalling of the romance between Kira and Kurama. I'm kinda proud of myself that after 50 chapters they still aren't together; I did that because I hate how people pair characters up too quickly. It feels forced. Also, Kira's denser than a rock.


	21. Her Choice Between Demons

Dc-chan: We have this week off from school, but I still have basketball in the morning from 8-10AM, such ungodly hours…Thank you all for the supportive reviews. I feel special.

MCT: You shouldn't feel special, loser.

Seraph: L-O-S-E-R, maybe yellow school bus special though…

Dc-chan: I hate you two. Anyway, I wrote this chapter while waiting for my brother to let me play Guitar Hero, which is one of my favorite games now, but because of that game I have bandages on my fingers and they hurt a lot. My wrist also is in pain from playing it for three hours straight. Oww…

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!!! Except for some random OCs and the new volume of FullMetal Alchemist!

I was listening to Gazette's song 'FILTH in the Beauty' and 'Crucify Sorrow' (you can listen to them on myspace just look them up, LISTEN TO IT THE LEGIONS OF HELL COMMAND IT!!!) when I wrote this. They're such awesome songs! Yes, I'm kind of a J-ROCK fiend. O3O

**DEDICATION: **This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX **

Chapter 21 of Define 'Normal'

Her Choice Between Demons

_White shaking hands stretched out in the darkness, reaching for something that was just out of its grasp. Blood was dripping off the long fingers that began trembling. A face came into view from within the shadows. Eyes overshadowed by black bangs, but tears could be seen streaming the hallow cheeks. _

_Blood suddenly splattered on the floor and across his face as a woman's limp body rolled into view. Her wavy black hair matted with blood and her white dress soaked with the crimson liquid. Her dark eyes emotionless and dead, but wide open._

_He hunched his shoulders over as he reached his hand out to caress her cheek, but suddenly stopped, his hand only inches from her face. His fingers twitched before balling his hand into a fist and pounding it against the ground in frustration. Words would not form in his throat to express how he felt; all he could feel was pain and agony. Everything was ruined. There would be no happy ending for him._

_He narrowed his eyes and looked up into the darkness. "I will get her back. I will get back what you have taken from me at any cost!"_

Kira jolted awake so abruptly that she fell out of her bed and onto the hard wooden floor, taking two of her pillows and her comforter with her.

"Itaiiii…" (oww…)

She lay on her belly on the floor for a few seconds before pushing herself up so she was sitting upright with her legs crossed. Grabbing her nightshirt by the hem she picked it up to her face and wiped away the sweat before rubbing her forehead with one hand. Her heart was still beating erratically like she had just run a 10-mile marathon. Her shirt was also drenched in sweat and clung to her thin body, which was something she would normally change into a new shirt for, but she was too tired to even consider that thought.

Her eyes stared into the darkness of her room as she huddled her comforter around herself. At this time of night, even the shadows that had fallen across the floor looked menacing. In the dark she could see her digital clock showing the time, 2:39AM, in big red numbers.

She groaned as she stood up and stumbled back onto her bed, completely ignoring the fact that her pillows were now on the floor. She was not in the mood to worry about weird violent dreams especially after all she had been through recently. Now all she wanted to do was sleep. In the back of her mind she resolved to tell Kurama about it in the morning at school before nodding off again, this time into an undisturbed slumber.

…

The school bell had just rung for lunch. Kurama, who had been sitting in a daze for most of the class due to many stray thoughts in his head, looked around almost bewildered when he saw his classmates getting out their lunches. He stood up and packed his textbook and notebook into his book bag before slinging over his shoulder. Before he could stealthily leave the classroom undetected on his way to find out what Kira was up to (she hadn't walked to school with him that morning) he found himself held up by two of his female classmates, one had black hair and the other had short brown hair.

"You got the highest score again, Shuichi."

"Congratulations! I know you'd do it again!"

Kurama scratched the back of his head unpretentiously and smiled. "It was really nothing."

The two girls giggled in unison.

"Oh, you're so modest." One of them said after they recovered from their fit of giggles. "So, do know which college you're applying to yet?"

The brunette nudged her friend with her elbow. "He doesn't have to worry about that kind of stuff. With his test scores he'll definitely get into his first choice school."

The black haired girl stared dubiously at her friend. "Still, he must have some idea of what college he wants to go to." She turned to face 'Shuichi' with an innocent smile. "Right?"

"Well, to be honest, I haven't put much thought into it…"

Both girls looked positively horrorstricken. "You haven't!"

The girls scurried off into a corner of the classroom and dropped their voices to discuss the new development.

"I figured that he must of some idea…he IS the brightest in our class and his scores always get nationally ranked in the top."

Kurama sweatdropped as he left the classroom. _College, I really haven't thought about that since I teamed up with Yusuke and the others. _He walked down the hall pondering the idea for a few minutes before stopping short of Kira's classroom where there was a loud racket going on inside.

"KAMIYAMA! YOU WERE LATE AGAIN TODAY!"

"SO WHAT? IT WAS JUST AN HOUR! I slept in because I was tired…"

"YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU PLACED SIXTH IN THE EXAMS THAT I SHOULD BE LENIENT WITH YOU!"

"I NEVER SAID THAT! QUIT MAKING STUFF UP IN YOUR PARANOID BRAIN!"

Kira and Satsuki were nose-to-nose with each other. Their eyes locked in deadly glares as they growled at one another.

Kurama laughed lightly which caused both Kira and Satsuki to turn their heads at him.

Kira grinned when she saw him. "Shu-kunnn!" She bounded over to him and locked arms with him as she started dragging him out of the classroom. "I wanna talk with you."

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING KAMIYAMA!" Satsuki screeched as the door closed behind them.

Kira let go of Kurama's arm so she could put her hands behind her head as they walked together in the hallway.

"You slept in?" Kurama asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yep, yep." Kira nodded briskly. "I had another weird dream that's why. Remember, sometimes I have those dreams with the guy and the blood and stuff. Well, it was another one of those. Do you think it might mean something or am I just over speculating."

"Well…" Kurama stared up at the ceiling. "What does the guy look like?"

Kira stopped walking as she put her fist under her chin to think about it. "You know, I can't really remember, but he does look as awful lot like…" She trailed off, her eyes getting wider.

"Like who?" Kurama said although he had a suspicion of who it could be.

"Kokuei." She said quietly, looking down at the ground. "Why do you think I have these dreams? I never had them before I moved back to Japan."

Kurama leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets. "Have you considered that since you are psychic you are able to read people?"

Kira tilted her head to one side and blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"You seem to have a particular ability to sense when people you are close to are in danger, remember?" Kurama said recalling the Hosaki incident which triggered everything that had happened recently.

"Yeah…" Kira began understanding his logic and what he was getting at. "You're saying that because I'm psychic I can sense certain things and that I also seem to possess the ability when I'm sleeping to unintentionally use my power…but, wait. Is what I'm seeing in my dreams even real?"

"Let's assume that your dreams are linked to Kokuei. Maybe because you've been in close contact with him that's triggering your dreams and also you have a connection to Kokoro."

"Hmm…" Kira bit her bottom lip. "That makes sense…"

"You could always ask Genkai when we go to visit her."

"By visit, you mean train don't you?" Kira said skeptically.

Kurama didn't answer, but his smug grin was all the response she needed.

Kira sunk to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest as she faced the wall as Kurama began walking away. If there was a cloud of despair it was definitely looming over Kira's head as she sulked.

"Didn't Yusuke or Kuwabara ever tell you?" He asked looking over his shoulder.

"No…" Kira moped then shouted angrily. "YOU GUYS NEED TO QUIT MAKING PLANS BEHIND MY BACK! Is there anything else you're not telling me while we're on the subject?"

Kurama shrugged. "I'm not walking home with you today because I promised my teacher to tutor some kids in my class."

"Oh…okay." Kira watched as he walked away with an annoyed expression on her face. _Like that was pertinent to tell me._

"KAMIYAMA!!! THERE YOU ARE!"

Kira picked her head up to see a scary looking Satsuki towering over her. Her classmate's eyes were like burning flames and there seemed to be a deadly aura of energy emitting around her.

Kira paled. "Hi." She said meekly and raising a hand to wave weakly.

"KA…MI…YA…MA…"

Without a hesitation, Kira scrambled to her feet and took off running down the hall with an enraged Satsuki on her heels.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING KAMIYAMA? TRYING TO DITCH CLASS AGAIN?"

"No…just trying to get the hell away from you!"

Kira turned sharply in the hallway and dashed down another corridor panting heavily. Her legs felt like lead already. _Man, I'm out of shape._ Kira thought as she ran as fast as she could. It wasn't her fault she was so tired. If anyone had been as sleep deprived as she had been they would've found it a very hard task to run away from a pissed off class rep.

"GET BACK HERE!!! YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU FREAK!"

…

Kira walked slowly through the park all but dragging her bookbag on the ground and looking quite defeated. After Satsuki had tackled her in the hallway and tied her to her desk so she couldn't move, Kira had been subjected to being left alone until after the school bell had rung. It appeared Satsuki and her other classmates had forgotten to untie her and she was left there until the school janitor found her and cut the rope that bound her to her chair.

_I…hate…them…especially that Satsuki…_Kira thought angrily with her shoulders hunched over and walking like a dog with his tail between his legs. _They think they can do this to me, well I'll show them…_her thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly tripped over an unexpected crack in the sidewalk and fell with her arms sprawled in front of her like an idiot.

She sat up slowly, clenching her fist. _It's a conspiracy…everyone's trying to get me today. _She sprung back up and pointed furiously at the crack in the sidewalk. "You're in on it too? ADMIT IT! You stay there all innocent on the sidewalk and then when an unsuspecting pedestrian walks by…WHAM! You get them! Well… I'M ONTO YOU, BUDDY!"

Kira was busy yelling at the sidewalk that she hardly noticed a certain shadow demon coming up behind her.

"Hey, Kira." Kokuei said with a small smile.

Kira nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice as she whirled around to face, almost losing her balance and falling over once again, but this time she grabbed onto a lamppost. "It is a conspiracy…everyone's out to get me…" she grumbled inaudibly.

"What's a conspiracy?"

Kira dusted off her pink skirt and muttered, "Never mind." She folded her arms across her chest and stared at him, trying to calm down and not yell anymore. Her throat was already sore from today. "Why are you here?"

"Just wanted to talk to you for a little bit. Is that okay?" He inquired somewhat cheerfully.

Kira eyed him curiously for a moment before sighing. "Sure."

"Were you yelling at the sidewalk a few minutes ago?"

"Yes…" She directed her eyes away from his, feeling embarrassed for acting such a way.

"You shouldn't do that. I hear walls are better listeners." Kokuei joked.

"I'll keep that in mind…" Kira said bending over to pick up her bookbag. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Kokuei went silent as if he was reconsidering even talking to her, but eventually he spoke. "I just wanted to know something, but I don't know how you'll answer so I'm kinda nervous." He laughed softly and paused.

Kira pursed her lips together while waiting for him to end the silence.

"What…" he wavered for a second, but then went on, "what do you think of me?"

Kira was a little taken back by his question, but tried not to show how surprised she was. Part of her knew this was coming all along. After all the time thy spent together it seemed only fair that he would want to know if she felt anything for him, but she knew that her response wasn't going to be what he wanted. She really didn't want to think about these things right now. And why did he have to ask her today of all days?

"Do you have any feelings for me?" He asked, this time a little sterner. "Or do you have feelings for that kitsune?"

He once again caught Kira off guard. She remained quiet, but her brown eyes were locked onto his intently.

"Well?" He demanded stepping towards her and putting his hands on her shoulders.

Kira put her hands on her chest and pushed him away gently. "I don't think how I feel about Kurama is any of your business, Kokuei."

"Then how do you feel about me?" He persisted grabbing her by her forearm and pulling her closer to him. "I want to know."

"My feelings for you…aren't the same kind you appear to have for me. Sometimes I think that the only reason I feel anything for you is because I'm somehow connected to Kokoro, but that's all."

"What?" He said quietly, looking at her oddly. It wasn't the question 'what?' it was more like a surprised 'what?' It was obvious that wasn't the answer he was expecting or particularly wanted to hear. "You can't mean that…" He sounded hurt.

Kira took a step back as she inhaled sharply. "I'm sorry, it's not that I don't like you at all. I don't think I quite understand it myself, but my feelings for you are definitely…unnatural."

"And your feelings for Kurama are completely natural." He spat, his temper rising slightly.

"I never said that!" She glared at him angrily, her cheeks red from trying to keep her cool. "I do like you, but I don't know if it's because I'm connected to Kokoro and if that influences my feelings for you. That's what I mean when I say unnatural."

"But what about-"

"You leave Kurama out of this! You wanted to know my feelings for you and I'm telling you!" She snapped back, freeing her forearm from his tight grip. With that said she turned her back on him and sundered away without so much as a last glance over her shoulder at him.

Kokuei watched her back as she walked away until she was out of his sight. He frowned, clearly disappointed with her answer. _Eventually she'll have to choose between him and me…_His lips curled up into a vainglorious smile. _However, there is a way to tip the scales in my favor before she starts having second thoughts. But I still need to get closer to her for my plan to work._

…

Kira cursed under her breath as she threw her bookbag against the wall in her room. She ran her hands through her hair to push it back out of her eyes as she fell backwards on her bed so she was laying on her back with her legs dangling over the edge. She wanted to punch or kick something, but her mom would get mad at her if she broke anything in the house again.

It was then there was a sharp knock on her door.

"Yeah, what?" Kira yelled, not trying to hide the frustration in her voice.

"Don't give me that tone," Rika warned through the door. "I forgot to tell you we're having dinner at the Minamino's house tonight so please get dressed. We're leaving in ten minutes."

Kira sat upright immediately. "We are?"

"Yes, we are." Rika replied curtly. "So wear something nice."

Kira dragged herself over to her closet after she heard her mom walk away and the footsteps fade away.

"Wear something nice she says," she opened her closet door bitterly. "We're having dinner at the Minamino's she says. When will I ever get a break?" She mumbled harshly to herself some more before picking out a red and white striped long sleeve blouse and a knee length black denim skirt. After she got rid of her school uniform she pulled the shirt over her head and put on the skirt. She let the lower part of her hair fall around her neck then pulled the upper part into two small pigtail sprouts.

Her mother abruptly walked into her room. "Aww, you look so cute!" She was wearing a gray button down blouse and a long black skirt with heeled boots. "I didn't think you'd actually wear something nice or maybe it's because you wanted to look nice for Shuichi…" Her mother said in a teasing voice.

Kira almost choked on the air she was breathing. "It's nothing like that!"

"Say whatever you want dear."

"Argh! Get out of my room!"

"I think it's adorable that you-"

Kira pushed her mother out of her room while a vein in her head throbbed in agitation. "Let's get going already! Geez!"

…

Kira couldn't help feeling gauche sitting between her mother and Kurama while she ate dinner. After her encounter with Kokuei she didn't feel like making much conversation especially with Kurama for fear that the topic might slip out at the dinner table. So, as a method to distract herself in-between bites of food, she busied herself with ripping the edges of the paper napkin in her lap. However, her unusual silence didn't go as unnoticed as she would have hoped.

"Are you alright Kira?" Shiori asked with concern as dinner was finishing up; she had already started to collect the plates from the table.

"Uh…yeah…" Kira said not really paying attention.

Kurama looked at her from the corners of his eyes. He knew something was bugging her judging from her spacey expression and how she had barely spoken a word during the entire dinner.

Shiori leaned over Kira and put a hand on the teenage girl's cheek. "You look a bit flushed, maybe some fresh air will do you some good. Perhaps you're not feeling well."

"Well, it has been a hectic day…" Kira muttered to herself. Kira couldn't but feel a little embarrassed by how motherly Shiori was acting towards her.

"I think that's a good idea," Rika agreed patting her daughter on the shoulder.

Kira stood up and obliged, feeling rather stupid for having everyone worry about her. She felt the chilly rush of air hit her face as she stepped outside on the steps in front of the Minamino house. The coolness outside was nice against her hot face and she felt herself cool down gradually. This kind of weather was very nice on nights when one was stressed out, it was relaxing.

She looked over her shoulder when she heard the front door open and Kurama appeared in the doorway.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kurama asked closing the door behind him and going over to stand next to Kira on the front steps. "You seemed like yourself at school, but right now you kind of…"

"Seem dead to the world." Kira finished for him dully.

"That's one way of putting it." Kurama smiled, enjoying her sense of humor.

She looked at him for a moment and sighed heavily. _Should I tell him that I saw Kokuei today? Or rather, Kokuei found me and asked me a rather uncomfortable question…_She bit the inside of her cheek as she though about this.

The frosty night air and the slight breeze made the night feel unbearably lonesome. The tree branches rustled in the wind as a waning crescent moon hang overhead, partly covered by clouds.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, waiting patiently for her response. He didn't want her to feel alienated or like she couldn't share her feelings with him when she needed to vent. He really wanted her to be more open with him.

Kira lowered her eyelids. "Well, I guess I should tell you…I talked with Kokuei today." She held her breath while waiting for him to say something.

Kurama tilted his head to one side. "Is something he said bothering you?"

She inclined her head slowly. "Kinda."

He studied her carefully, alert to her worried and nervous expression. He didn't want to see her get all worked up or upset over something like this. Kurama decided to do the best he could to comfort her. He put a hand on her head and gently ruffled her hair. "I wouldn't worry too much about anything he said. You've had a lot to deal with lately, it's no wonder you're so out of it and tired. Cheer up, okay?"

Kira blinked in bewilderment at those words. _He's not going to ask me what Kokuei and I talked about?_ Her quivering eyes moved upwards until they met his. She suddenly felt a great rush of gratitude towards him as she smiled faintly at him. Leave it to Kurama to say exactly what you needed to hear when you were down.

Kurama noted her slightly upbeat grin and opened the front door for her. "Want to go back inside, now?"

She nodded. "Yeah…" She felt much better now even if they hadn't really talked about what was bugging her she was still appreciative that Kurama wanted to cheer her up. _I'll try not to worry about it right now. He's right, a lot of things have happened lately._ "You know what?"

"What?"

She paused, unsure of what she was going to say was going to make any sense, but then decided to hell with it. "As much as I'm interested in Kokuei I think I like you more."

Kurama's cheeks turned a light shade of pink however it went unnoticed by Kira due to the fact that it was dark outside. "Really?" He asked looking away so he couldn't think about how cute she was saying this.

"Yeah. True, he's got that mysterious thing going for him, but he's not the one who makes me feel better and sticks by me through thick and thin. I really appreciate that." She grinned cutely at him before she turned to go back into the house.

Kurama was left standing outside by himself in the chilly night. In all his life he had never felt his heart beat like this or ever have this feeling in the pit of his stomach like it was knotting up. How was it she could make him feel like this? Not even the infamous fox spirit within him could grasp the answer to that question even after living for over 1,000 years.

…

"I still haven't told Kira yet…" Rika said sounding distressed as she sat with her hands in her lap.

"You haven't told her you're getting remarried, yet? But the engagement party is a few days away." Shiori said as the two women were sitting on the couch in the living room with Kurama's stepbrother and stepfather sitting across from them on another couch.

"I just think it might be a shock for her."

"It will be even more of a shock if you don't tell her soon."

"Tell me what?" Kira asked entering the living room with a perplexed face and Kurama behind her.

A long delay of silence filled the room. Shiori retained her breath as did Kurama who understood immediately what they had been talking about in his and Kira's absence.

"That your mom's getting married," Shuichi, Kurama's stepbrother, said while he brushed past her on his way upstairs to his room.

It took a minute as this registered in Kira's mind. Everyone stared at her with anxious faces waiting to see how she'd react to the news. It was oddly quiet in the Minamino household for a few minutes as Kira's mind raced to comprehend what was going on.

Kira's jaw then dropped as she stared disbeliveingly at her mother as it clicked in her head. "YOU'RE GETTING WHAT?"

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Well, that's that chapter. I try to write a short chapter but it never ever works out (I'm averaging roughly 3800 words a chapter nowadays, yikes, huh?). I seem to have trouble writing chapters under 3000 words these days. Oh well. Help it, I can't. Enjoy much, did you?

MCT: Yoda freak.

Dc-chan: -hides under rock- ALONE LEAVE ME!

Seraph: -pokes Dc with pitchfork- Haha, loser.

NEXT CHAPTER: What The Future Holds

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

GAZETTE ROCKS! As does GUITAR HERO!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!


	22. What The Future Holds

OMG FILLER CHAPTER! Just because I felt like it. Neh.

Dc-chan: I have…stalkers! OMFG! I'm amused yet scared at the same time. I hope everyone had splendid Thanksgivings. Mine was good, when I was baking cookies I left them in the oven too long and set off the smoke alarm. My mom almost called the Fire Department. All those buttons on the oven really confuse me so I figured that kind of thing would happen sooner or later when I use it. So…moving on. Thanks for all the spectacular reviews! I'm glad Kira's a lovable and also gets on people's nerves kind of character. Sometimes I reread chapters I wrote and I feel like bashing her head into a wall myself. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy, mis amigos! I tried to write a short chapter, but I failed miserably. HOW DO YOU PEOPLE WRITE 2000 WORD CHAPTERS! This chapter is over 5000 words. Such simple tasks delude me…–sigh-.

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu Yu Hakusho my world would be a much happier place, but unfortunately it's not. I think you guys get the picture. DwD;

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 22 of Define 'Normal'

What The Future Holds

"Let's see…" Kira's finger went from the top of the clipboard to the bottom slowly as she read of things that needed to be done in her mind. Usually event planning was something she would detest and loathe with every fiber in her being, but considering this was her mom's engagement party exceptions could be made. Besides, she wanted to keep herself busy. If she didn't have anything to do chances are she would be up in her room acting very emo sulking on her bed. "There's so much to do…"

"There would be less if you would help us out!" Kuwabara shouted at her as he tried to put up decorations, but had somehow become helplessly entangled in the streamers. He resembled something very close to a colorful mummy.

Kira hid a smile of amusement at the poor situation he was in. However, she resented him saying that she had done nothing to help so far. After all, while her mother was busy having a mental breakdown about all the things that they needed for the party Kira (with much help from Kurama) had peacefully arranged things and enlisted the help of Kuwabara and Yusuke. This of course happened after Kira got over the initial shock that her mom was getting married, but it still peeved her that it was kept a secret from her so long.

Kira hugged the clipboard to her chest and stuck her tongue out at him. "You said you wanted to help Kuwabara. So, I'm letting you help."

He glared at her as he tried to untangle himself from the party streamers. "Why can't you get the girls to help with this?" By girls he meant: Keiko, Shizuru, Botan and Yukina. "Guys aren't meant for setting up parties."

"Well, uhhh…" Kira paused realizing Kuwabara was right. She felt stupid for not thinking it through. "SHUT UP!"

"And where's Urameshi and Kurama?"

Kira rolled her eyes. "Yusuke's probably on the roof or in the backyard slacking off. Kurama is busy right now, but he said he'd come over later."

"So, why don't you make Urameshi help me out?"

"It would take too much effort. I don't feel like fighting with him right now." Kira said looking back at her clipboard and wandering away from him although it was obvious when Kuwabara's facial expressions that he wanted her to help him free himself from the streamers. She went into the kitchen where she was surprised to find Yusuke. "I thought you were outside."

"It's too cold to be outside." Yusuke replied eyeing the trays of food on the kitchen counters.

"Don't you dare eat any of that food Yusuke…" She had in a warning one and wagging a finger at him.

Yusuke grinned evilly at him as his hand hovered over a plate of shrimp.

"Don't you dare." Kira hissed warningly as she grabbed a stack of white cups.

"What 'cha gonna do with those?" Yusuke said in amusement. "Poke my eyes out with styrofoam?"

Kira threw a styrofoam cup at him, however he being the quick thinker that he was, grabbed a nearby empty tin tray and used it as a deflector shield.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Kamiyama!" He teased much to her annoyance.

A vein throbbed on Kira's forehead as she started to rapidly throw cups at him, one after the other and each one he deflected with the tray which only irked her even more.

"I thought you told Kuwabara you didn't feel like fighting with me?" Yusuke said tucking the tray under his arm when Kira ran out of ammo…cups.

"There's always room for exceptions…" Kira said glancing at the ground where the cups had fallen before whacking him with the clipboard. "Now, you useless lump, if you don't have anything better to do then take that punch bowl and put it on the table in the dining room."

At first Yusuke resisted until Kira threatened to hit him the clipboard again.

"Touchy, touchy." He grumbled as he carried the bowl through the hallway while Kira glowered at his back.

Unfortunately for him, at that moment, Kuwabara cam tumbling into the hallway still wrapped up in the streamers which had somehow wrapped themselves around his legs, making it difficult for him to walk. He crashed into Yusuke and the next thing that was heard was the sound of shattering glass and punch spattering on the floor.

"YUSUKE!" Kira shouted wringing her hands after dropping her clipboard.

"Uh-oh…" Kuwabara said as he lay on the floor.

"Run, Kuwabara, run very fast." Yusuke said urgently.

"I can't run! I'm tangled up!" Kuwabara replied trying to wriggle away like a worm across the floor.

Yusuke watched as Kuwabara squirmed away, he held his ribs because he was laughing so hard. It was really a funny sight seeing the carrot top move about like a worm.

It was then Yusuke remembered that Kira was mad at him. Oh, wait. Mad was an understatement at this point. She looked like she was about to stab him with something, anything she could find whether it be a knife or a frying pan. She was going to try to hurt him.

Usually, Yusuke, who had experienced death twice and wished not to add another tally mark in that particular column, was wary of such things. However, on some occasions he thought to hell with it. "Come and get me, flat chest!"

Kira's eye twitched. "Yu-su-KE! You. Are. A. Dead. Man." She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. How typical of him was it for him to make fun of something she completely lacked? Her desire to stab him grew considerably.

"I thought you said I was a dead man, but I seem pretty alive to me." He grinned so widely his wisdom teeth showed.

Without warning, she tried to tackle him, but somehow she ended up sliding in the spilled beverage that was on the ground in front of Yusuke. She flailed her arms around like an idiot as she slid down the hallway, not knowing how to stop herself.

"Hey!" Yusuke yelled a little bit alarmed. "Watch out for the wall!"

Too late. Kira's forehead slammed into the wall at the end of the hallway, her feet slipped out from under her and the impact from the wall caused her to fall onto the floor, hitting the back of her head.

Yusuke darted over to her. "Kamiyama?" He knelt down next to her. "Oh shit…"

Kuwabara bounded in, it appeared he had been able to remove all the streamers. "I heard a crash…" He saw Kira unconscious on the floorboards and gaped. "You punched her? You're not supposed to punch girls Urameshi!"

"I didn't punch her! The idiot slipped and crashed into the wall." Yusuke protested.

"Man, I'm glad I'm not you right now." Kuwabara said glancing back down at Kira and picking her.

"Why?" Yusuke arched an eyebrow.

"Kurama's gonna kill you and not to mention Kira's mom if she's knocked out throughout the party." Kuwabara hid a smirk as that registered on Yusuke's face.

Yusuke paled. "Aw, man. Kurama's one scary guy when's he's pissed off." He rubbed the back of his head nervously, but then shrugged it off. "I'm sure it'll be okay when I tell him she knocked herself out. She is a world class klutz. Her slipping all on her own isn't exactly unheard of."

…

Kira's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she noticed was the throbbing pain in the back of her head. It hurt like someone had hit her over the head with a metal baseball bat. She groaned as she sat up with one hand rubbing the sore spot on the back of her head. It felt like her skull was gonna crack open and her brain would fall out on the floor at any second. That would be gross.

She stood up, her head spinning and feeling like she was going to vomit.

"Yusuke and Kuwabara are so dead…" she muttered staggering out of the living room, but she abruptly tripped over something in the hallway and fell flat on her face. "What the…" She looked over her shoulder to see a brown teddy bear on the ground. _Why is that in the hallway? And how the hell did I trip over it?_ It was then she started noticing that her house was kind of different then she remembered it.

Some of the walls were painted different colors and the furniture in some of the rooms was moved around or there was new furniture altogether.

She furrowed her brows as she walked door the hallway and peered into the rooms she thought she had known so well. This was definitely odd. Hardly anything seemed right to her.

"Yusuke?" She called as she went back to rubbing her sore head. "Kuwabara? Kurama?"

No answer, how peculiar.

The house was usually very noisy during the day with her and her friends running around, but now it seemed eerily quiet.

"Where is everyone?" She asked herself when she went into the kitchen to see all the trays of food, cups, utensils and all the other things she had set up with her friends for the party gone.

Kira wandered back to the living room with her hands on her hips. This was getting almost Twilight Zone freaky for her. Where had everyone gone? Was this some kind of joke they were playing on her? She had a feeling it wasn't, something about it seemed real yet totally unreal at the same time.

Her eyes than saw something strange on the mantle above the fireplace in the living room. She moved closer to it eyeing it with disbelief. It was a photo, but not just any kind of photo. It was of her, she looked a little bit older though, maybe four or five years older and she was standing next to Kurama with that goofy smile on her face, but it wasn't just a goofy smile it was a happy smile. They were standing together in front of an altar and she was wearing… a wedding dress and Kurama had on a tuxedo, both had wedding bands on their ring fingers.

Kira felt like fainting as she stumbled away from the picture and somehow managed to fall back on her butt she was so shocked.

_Married? Married? This IS a nightmare…_

Kira felt like the room was spinning around her, she had to grab the couch firmly with both of her hands to even stand up. She flopped down back on the couch she had awoken on with her face buried in her hands. This was all just a dream. She was going to wake up back in reality any second now, or so she told herself over and over again vehemently.

Kira jolted upright when she heard the front swing door open.

"Gramma! We're back!"

Kira peered over the couch just in time to see two kids, one with short inky black hair and another with dark red auburn hair in little pigtails, whiz past like blurs in the hallway and stumble up the stairs.

"Gramma?" She heard the little kids yelling and running upstairs like maniacs, knocking dust off the ceiling with their stomping feet.

"Oh, look at the two of you. You're both so precious!" Kira recognized that voice instantly although it sounded a little aged.

Kira watched as and older version of her mother descended down the stair case holding the boy with black hair in one arm and holding hands with the redheaded girl.

"Are you feeling better Megumi?" Rika asked looking down at the younger girl.

The young girl pulled at the hem of her skirt and nodded as she answered. "Yep! But I had to take really icky medicine! Mommy and daddy said I had to take it if I wanted to not be sick anymore. It tasted worst than vegetables."

"You sound a lot like your mother when she was your age." Rika noted to her granddaughter. "You may look like your father, but you and your brother definitely have more of your mom's personality."

Kira recoiled on the couch. Her mind was slowly fitting together the pieces of this puzzle as she watched the scene take place in front of her. _Okay…this is one weird dream. So, if I was to guess what was going on I'd hafta say that those two kids are…Kurama's and mine?_ _What a weird dream. _

Kira was yet again distracted from her thoughts when she heard two more strangely familiar voices.

"Energetic, aren't they?"

"What do you expect? They're seven and four years old, _koishii_." (darling)

Kira slowly made her way over to the hallway and poked her head around the doorway so she could see what was going on. If her jaw could have dropped any further it would've hit the floor and her eyes were wide like tennis balls.

In the front doorway stood Kurama and herself looking rather…disturbingly (in Kira's mind) close. He had his arm around her waist and she was leaning in closely to his chest, smiling genuinely while her hands worked on unbuttoning the jacket he was wearing. Judging from how rosy their cheeks were, it must've been cold outside.

Kurama looked relatively the same, but his girlish features had gotten harder over the past few years. He was more built too, but his crimson hair was still long. His emerald eyes were focused on Kira and he chuckled at the face she made as she had trouble with a button, resulting in her almost pulling it off his jacket in frustration, but finally unbuttoning it.

Kira blinked as she looked at the older version of herself. It was weird to see yourself. She still had the red bangs, but her hair was longer and a little wavy. It was then that Kira thought she did look quite a bit like Kokoro. She looked almost, dare she say it, pretty. After she was done unbuttoning Kurama's jacket she slipped her own off and hung both of the articles of clothing on the hooks by the door.

Kira also noticed something else, the older version of herself had a small bulging stomach. _I'M FAT! No wait…I'M PREGNANT! THAT'S EVEN WORSE! _Her mind tried to grope for what to think next. Without the jacket, it was painfully obvious that she was pregnant. She held her head and sank to the floor.

"How far along are you ?" Rika asked Kira as Megumi left her side and ran over to her dad and started pulling at his hand.

"Just started the third trimester." Kira said patting her lower belly and grinning broadly.

Kurama picked his little daughter up in his arms. "I want a sister this time!" The girl demanded.

Kurama laughed lightly. "I don't think we have control over that Megumi."

The boy in Rika's arms squirmed. "What's wrong with boys onee-chaaaan?" He whined.

"Boys are gross and stupid." She stuck her tongue out at her younger brother.

"No they're not!" The little boy retaliated trying to escape his grandmother's arms to get at his older sister, but Rika held onto him fast.

Kurama sighed heavily. "They definitely take after their mother…"

Kira glared at him as she play punched his arm. "You're saying that like it's a bad thing. Do I need to remind you who you're married to?"

"Nonetheless," Rika said cheerily and nuzzling her grandson's cheek with her own affectionately, "Shiori and I knew the two of you would give us adorable grandchildren!"

"Mom," Kira said sweatdropping and holding up her hands, "calm down…"

_I don't want kids! I don't! I don't! _Present Kira thought while convulsing on the floor, her head still in her hands and rolling from side to side. _I can't believe this nightmare! C'mon Kira! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!_

…

"I DON'T WANT KIDS!" Kira screamed, awaking so suddenly and sitting up that she hit Kurama in the chin with her head who had been the unfortunate one standing over her at the time.

Kurama rubbed his chin with his hand. "Your head is harder than a rock, you know that?"

"ACK! I'm sorry Kurama!" Kira said sitting with her legs underneath her and bowing her head. "Did I dislocate your jaw by accident?"

"No…" Kurama replied sweatdropping as he noticed her frantic expression.

"I'll get you some ice for that!" Kira exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and ran over to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later she and Kurama were sitting next to one another on the couch. Kira had her hands in her lap and was working hard to conceal the blush on her face while Kurama was nursing his sore chin with the icepack she had brought to him.

"That must've been some dream you were having when you were unconscious." Kurama said finally, putting the ice pack down on his leg and touching his chin with his hand to find that it was still sensitive to the touch.

"Huh?" Kira said staring at him. Obviously her mind had been somewhere else. It was still plagued by thoughts that her dream had aroused.

"You were dreaming weren't you?" He asked staring at her as he reapplied the icepack.

"Yeah…" Kira said slowly, knowing that he was hinting he wanted to know what she was dreaming about. However, she didn't feel comfortable telling him so she decided to ask him a question instead. "Kurama?"

"Hm?"

"Would you…would you ever get married?" She inquired, trying to sound innocent.

Kurama's eyes widened for a second, he was caught a little off guard by such a question. The thought hadn't really crossed his mind. After all, he was seventeen. Even for him such a thought rarely occurred to him. The thought that one day he would get married and have children was something he had put in the back of his mind as most other teenagers his age did. He never really had much time to even consider the idea with all the other things going on in his life.

He watched as Kira's face flushed from getting flustered that he was taking so long to answer. Her heart was beating like a hummingbird from just sitting next to him.

Kurama smiled at her, having an inkling now what her dream could've been about. "I imagine, if were ever to get married or have kids," he started, "that it would be with a person I love very much."

Kira turned away from him to hide how cherry red her face was at the moment. _Why does he say things like that?_ As she hugged herself her hands clutched the sleeves of her shirt, making an 'x' with her arms crossed over her chest and biting her bottom lip.

Kurama studied her reaction intently with his analyzing and intelligent eyes.

Kira was quite aware that he was gauging her and felt like a bug under a microscope.

"Hey you two, I'm not paying you to stand around! Get ready for the party!" Kira's mom yelled from the kitchen.

"You're not paying us at all…" Kira mumbled glumly as she leaned back onto the couch cushions.

"That's besides the point," Kurama said standing up with his hands in his pockets. He gave Kira a small smile. "She's just nervous about the party."

"I would be too…if I were to ever get married…" Kira mumbled looking away from Kurama again. She didn't dare stare him in the eye right now. Especially after that uncanny reverie. She was afraid that her own eyes would give too much away. The reason she agreed to help with her mom's engagement party was to take her mind off of these things not to make them even more complicated. Could a girl ever get a break? Apparently not.

…

Kira ran down the stairs, knowing that her mother was going to rip her a new one because she had taken too long to get dressed. There was already at least a dozen guests downstairs however Yusuke was nowhere to be found. Kira could guess why too. He didn't want to be chased around by her, which was transparent due to his absence. However, she was surprised to see Kuwabara there with Yukina of all people. She could just see Hiei sitting in a tree right outside the window of her house twitching and plotting to murder the poor guy who was still unaware of her relation to the fire apparition.

"Ah! There you are Kira!" Her mother locked arms with her as she suddenly come up behind her daughter. "What took you so long." Her mother asked out of the corner of her mouth and quite anxiously.

"Problems, things…" Kira murmured, trying to avoid the thought she detested the red spaghetti strap dress she was wearing. Her mom had bought it for her two days for today, but Kira hadn't the heart to tell her mom that she hated spaghetti straps and cute little dresses.

"What kinds of things sweetheart?" Her mother pried as she directed her daughter toward the dining room.

"You know…" Kira dropped her voice, "the usual problems…"

Her mother nodded in understanding although she probably would never truly understand. Hell, she didn't even know half of things Kira went through everyday like Kokuei and the Guardian of Time, Sega. Rika remained blissfully unaware of those exploits despite how Kurama tried to argue that her mother should know what danger she was in until Kira countered that Kurama didn't tell his mother either.

"Anyway," her mother said, trying to have an upbeat tone, "I want you to meet your future stepfather." She pulled Kira, who was trying her best to cement her feet to the ground, into the room where he was. Rika tapped him on the shoulder gently, "Yutaka, this is my daughter, Kira."

The man, who had been talking to someone else, politely excused himself from that conversation and turned around. The first thing Kira noticed was that he was tall, perhaps taller than Kurama. He had dark hair and equally dark eyes, but despite his sharp facial features he had a warm smile. He was wearing a white button shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows with a necktie, black slacks and matching shoes. He appeared relatively clean cut.

He extended his hand toward her, beaming. "So this is the notorious daughter I've heard so much about. Pleasure to meet you K-chan."

Kira grimaced at the nickname, but tried not to show it too much. Only Kurama dared call her that, but he hadn't done that in ages. She suddenly found herself wondering why until she felt her mom elbowing her gently in the ribs.

"Oh! It's nice to meet you too, Yutaka-san." She bowed clumsily, almost knocking into another guest.

He put a hand on her hair and ruffled it. "None of this Yutaka-san business, okay? Just Yutaka."

Kira bobbed her head up and down, wishing very much that he would take his hand off of her head. She didn't like adults who made her feel like a five-year-old.

She excused herself and spent the vast majority of the party standing by the table and eating food, not caring if the guests, who were mostly her mother's and Yutaka's coworkers, thought she was being a gluttonous pig.

"Kind of boring isn't it?"

Kira looked next to her to see Kurama beside her with his arms behind his back. She never expected him of all people to say something like that.

"You could say that." Kira agreed taking a bit out of the food she had on her plate. "Figures it would be mostly for adults and stuff." She stifled a yawn.

Kurama exhaled heavily before leaning over and whispering in her ear. "You look nice in that dress."

Kira fidgeted upon feeling his breath against the side of her face, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She almost dropped her plate of food. She blinked a couple of times as she tried to regain all the knowledge she had of the spoken language in her mind. No words were coming to her. Instead, her cheeks turned bright pink and she went back to chomping down her food. Anything to avoid further conversation.

He chuckled at her stunned face, which was almost painful how visible she was trying to hide it. He had known her since his early childhood and when she had moved back to Japan over a year ago he had expected that nothing was to happen between the two of them. He certainly hadn't anticipated developing feelings like this for her. A year ago if he had said something like to her she would've A) punched him B) kicked him in a certain area that is considerably painful or C) call him a good for nothing pervert or maybe even D) all of the above. The fact that she was almost always blushing when they interacted together made him wonder if she had budding emotions for him.

"Kurama, are you just teasing me when you say things like that?" She asked putting her plate down on the table.

Kurama half closed his eyes and cupped her chin in his hand. "Why would I? Tell yourself I'm only joking if you want."

She felt her body tense up as he tilted her face to the side and kissed her softly on the cheek. His lips felt like a feather brushing her on the side of her face, it was that amiable.

"I DON'T WANT KIDS!"

Before Kira knew what she had done, she had shouted that statement at the top of her lungs and with her eyes closed. She carefully peeked her eyes open to see that her hands were in front of her and that she had pushed Kurama against a wall unintentionally.

Kurama's eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were slightly parted. He had such an unusual expression, something she had never seen on his face before.

Kira ran outside after pushing past some people and flinging open the front door. The cool rush of night air that hit her felt so refreshing and tranquil. She sat down on the curb of the sidewalk and ran both of her hands through her hair before hugging herself. She felt drops of rain fall from above and hit her bare arms. She shivered slightly as it began raining harder, her stubbornness not allowing her to return to the house where it was warm inside and cozy. She shook her head violently and buried her face in her hands.

How could she have reacted like that? She had seen the look Kurama had given her when she pushed him away. He looked hurt by her actions. So incredibly hurt. And to know that she was the one who caused his pain…she wanted to scream at herself.

Instead, she sat by herself in the rain and whispered to herself silently, "What the hell's wrong with me?"

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: So yeah…I'm insane. I'm forgoing the idea of a tournament for this fic because I don't feel like torturing myself with so much writing; maybe I'll have a tournament if there's another story after this. I didn't plan on making this into a trilogy, but who knows. Maybe it will be, maybe it won't be. Only time will tell. Anyway, the holidays are coming. I'm excited.

And according to Wikipedia:

'Encouraged by the commercial sector, the secular celebration of Christmas is popular in Japan, though Christmas is not a national holiday. The Japanese adopted the character of Santa Claus in their celebrations, but the Santa image does not carry the same social importance as in the United States. Christmas is not as important as New Year's Day, which is the most sacred holiday in Japan, whereas Christmas is not a holiday at all. In contrast to western customs, Christmas Eve is a day for couples to date and groups to hold parties, while the official New Year's Day holiday is a day of family celebration. Christmas Eve is a time for lovers to exchange gifts, have a special date and stroll under Christmas lights erected by companies and governments to enhance the romantic feel of the day. ' OMFG FORESHADOWING FOR THE STORY! –wink, wink-

OMFG 10,500+ VIEWS! HUZZAH! I feel even more happy and energetic now.

NEXT CHAPTER: Tension Rising

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

I reread Rock My World and I realized that as a fourteen-year-old at that time I SUCKED AT WRITING. I'm reformatting those chapters so they're 'prettier' and rereading as I go along, which is almost painful to do (horrible ninth grade writing –burns it-). I guess I felt this way after reading some other fan fics that were absolutely AMAZING and so well written. –sigh- I need to work harder…


	23. Tension Rising

Dc-chan: Geez, I'm in such a bad mood. School's just getting insane and basketball is making me angry. I hate it and because I have no way to vent my anger at the world so…I SHALL WRITE! But I wish I could stab something…oAo

MCT and Seraph: -slowly back away-

Dc-chan: I'm not going to stab my muses! -.- I'm not that depressed…yet…

Disclaimed, I don't own the awesomeness of Yu Yu Hakusho. I merely own Kira and all other OCs that may randomly pop up in this story. Pity them.

I was going to finish this chapter last week (that would've been nice, ne?), but I got sick…again…joy.

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 23 of Define 'Normal'

Tension Rising

Kurama rested his elbow against the sill of the train window as he leaned forward in the uncomfortably cushioned seat. The normal rural scenery rolled by: fields, barns, rivers, mountains and trees. It was nothing interesting, but when you were trying to avoid thinking about something you could find yourself wrapped up in the simplicity that the countryside had to offer. Especially if the _person_ you were trying to avoid thinking about was sitting on the seat right behind you.

Occasionally his eyes would dart to the side so he could see her faint reflection in the mirror. Her black hair pooled over her thin shoulders and a red beanie was pulled over her eyes with wisps of her dark red bangs poking out beneath its brim. Her arms were folded across her chest as she sat slumped in her seat, sleeping quite soundly. She seemed quite comfortable sleeping in her baggy hoodie sweatshirt.

He sighed heavily as he looked around himself to see that Yusuke and Kuwabara were both fast asleep as well. He couldn't blame them. They had gotten up so early that morning to go to Genkai's for training. It wasn't even the crack of dawn when they met each other at the train station over three hours ago. Everyone had been dead tired, but himself. He couldn't shake the previous night's events from his mind. It was vibrant in his mind, so clear and replaying itself over and over to his dismay.

He didn't know what had possessed him to do such a thing. It was just the result of months of building emotions. He was sure at this point in time that she had an inkling about his feelings for her and that she had feelings for him. Why would she even bother to talk to him if she didn't like him? Surely, she felt something for him.

He ran his hand over his face while wishing he could've taken it back. It was a mistake to move so fast with her. Clearly, analyzing the situation now, he could see now that Kira wasn't the type of girl that was comfortable with physical intimacy.

However, what most perplexed him was her quite random outburst. Aside from being hurt and feeling rejected, he was also a bit confused as her scream echoed in his ears.

_"I DON'T WANT KIDS!"_

What made her even insinuate such an inane idea?

He glanced up at her reflection once more. Why did she have to be so difficult? Was she really that immature?

His expression softened as he saw her sleepily rub her eyes before instantly falling back to sleep. He smiled to himself. That was the thing with people, you could never tell what was going on in their heads or predict their emotions. Even after knowing her for a year she was still a puzzle to him and he could even guess that he was as difficult for her to understand as she was to him.

He returned his gaze to the scenery outside the window, his eyelids beginning to feel a little bit heavy. The absence of sleep was finally taking its toll on him as he eventually feel asleep with his head against the window.

…

"I…hate…stairs…with…a…passion…" Kira huffed irritably as she reached the top of the inhumanely long stretch of stairs that lead up to Genkai's temple. Her legs felt like Jell-O and her calf muscles ached. She pulled back her beanie a little bit so she could see better, but her bangs were still mostly covering her eyes. _Time to trim the bangs…_she thought bitterly as she slumped over from the weight of her backpack.

"Need help, Kamiyama?" Kuwabara asked, noticing the exhausted girl.

"Yes!" She said thankfully while slipping her backpack straps off her shoulders and handing her bag to Kuwabara.

Kuwabara slung one of the straps over his own shoulder. "This is heavy. What do you have in here? Bricks?"

She shook her head. "Just clothes and crap."

Kira looked to her side to see Kurama standing just a few feet away. The power of her unintentional stare caught his attention and he looked at her. Their eyes locked for a brief moment. Both sets of eyes quivered as they stared into each other's.

Kira felt her cheeks get hot and tore her eyes away from Kurama as she turned her head to talk to Yusuke. "So, how long are we going to be staying here this time?" She pretended to sound more interested than she really was.

Yusuke held up two fingers. "Two weeks." He said in a sleepy voice.

She stiffened and her eye twitched. "Two weeks?" She put an emphasis on the word 'weeks'. "Are you trying to get us murdered in the most inhumane way possible?"

"Did someone say murder?" Genkai asked walking up to them with the usual frown on her face and furrowed brows, which made numerous creases on her forehead. "Because if any of you have been slacking off I won't murder you…I have something more painful in mind and I will be able to tell who has been training and who hasn't?" Genkai's unwavering glare was sent in the direction of Kira and Yusuke who were trembling from the old woman's words. Genkai then turned sharply on her heel and went back to the temple entrance. "Kira, after you get settled, we need to talk for a bit."

"Okay…" Kira said quietly as she shuffled her feet.

"It was nice knowing you two!" Kuwabara snickered as he followed Genkai's footsteps towards the temple and with that goofy grin of his on his face.

"SHUT UP!" Kira and Yusuke shouted in unison while shaking their fists at the tall boy angrily.

Kira and Yusuke exchanged agitated glances.

"Are we really going to die?" Kira asked as she hunched her shoulders over in a very unladylike way.

"I'd say that's the most likely outcome…" Yusuke groaned. "You get it easy because you're her granddaughter though."

Kira narrowed her eyes at him. "No, I don't! I get it worse than you because she has higher expectations from someone related to her then from someone like…you." It wasn't the best argument she could make, but she had a feeling that she and Yusuke were both trying to buy time from starting their training. Every second counted.

"Come on you two," Kurama said as the thought occurred to him that they had forgotten he was here with them during their conversation. "I'm sure both of you are hungry."

Kira chew on her bottom lip for a few seconds, resisting the urge to answer. She couldn't talk to him right now, even if it was informal and probably was only going to a short answer. Unbeknownst to her, she was trying so hard not to talk to him that she had forgotten to breath so now her face was turning a sickly shade of blue.

"Hey, did you forget to breath or something?" Yusuke joked as he slapped her on her back causing her to fall over and gasp for air. Yusuke pointed a finger at her as he laughed. "You DID forget to breath! HA! Idiot!"

"Leave me alone!" Kira pouted while puffing out her cheeks to show how annoyed she was. She hugged her knees to her chest as she sat on the ground and watched him practically skip away while still in a fit of hysterics. "Jerk…" It was then she noticed that Kurama was standing only a few feet away from her, holding his sides and laughing…at her. Needless to say, she was getting extremely ticked off at this. She glared coldly at him as if she was going to say 'What the hell is so funny, asshole?', but she held her tongue.

Kurama, who seemed to be able to read what that look meant by now, covered his mouth with his hand and stopped, but there was still a small smirk tugging on his lips.

She grumbled some incoherent swear words before standing back up and brushing the dust off of her jeans before running after Kuwabara and Yusuke who had already disappeared inside the temple.

Abruptly, she felt someone whack her over her head as soon as she stepped inside.

"GAH!" Kira cried, rubbing the back of her tender head with her hands. She looked up to see the short old woman standing over her with a sneer on her wrinkly face. "DAMMIT GRAMS! What was that for?"

"If you had been practicing using your powers you would have sensed the danger before it happened, therefore she wouldn't have been hit. You've been slacking." Genkai said coolly.

"I thought you said you wanted to talk to me!" Kira retorted.

"I do," Genkai replied. "I already have Yusuke and Kuwabara busy, so let's discuss this outside."

Kira followed her grandmother as the old woman led her through the temple. The place hadn't changed much since Kira was last there except for the damage Shikyo had inflicted a few months ago. Other than that, it was exactly how she remembered it with its traditional screen doors and wooden planked floors that when wet were deadly slippery.

Genkai finally stopped and opened a screen door with her hand revealing a barren area of earth beyond the door. The ground was dirt; no grass grew on it. It looked like a huge circle with trees tracing its circumference. Kira thought it vaguely resembled a crop circle. Maybe aliens at some point in time had invaded Genkai's forest. It took her a second to realize what an absurd thought that was. However, that didn't change the fact that the barren spot looked quite bizarre in such a thick forest.

"What's this for?" Kira asked curiously, her eyes darting around like a bewildered five-year-old.

"Take off your beanie and sweatshirt." Genkai ordered in her authoritative voice.

Kira did as she was told and tossed them to the side to reveal her unkempt hair and a faded black T-shirt underneath both objects of clothing. She was getting an uneasy feeling from this. What did the old lady have in store for her? Kira then reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair tie which she used to, you guessed it, tie back her hair in a messy ponytail. Kira arched her eyebrow when Genkai walked into the middle of the circle and went into a fighting stance.

"We'll talk as we fight." Genkai informed her. Genkai didn't waste time waiting for Kira to ready herself and attacked. Aiming some well-placed punches into Kira's abdomen.

Kira double overed onto the ground, holding her stomach with her hands and coughing. "What the hell?" She glared up at her grandmother. "A warning would've been nice."

"Do you think the enemy is going to wait for you?" Genkai said turning away and taking a few steps before resuming her fighting stance. "Get up! And this time, pay attention!"

"I thought we were going to talk." Kira grumbled as she got up on one knee, her breathing already ragged from the blows she received from Genkai. "You're the one…who said we needed to talk."

"We do, but right now you need to focus." Genkai smirked and lunged again.

Kira narrowly evaded her grandmother's kick, which would've hit her on the side of her head if she hadn't rolled out of the way right in the knick of time.

Kira got to her feet slowly. Genkai was being serious, but why? She wasn't going to let the old woman beat the crap out of her.

"So what do you want to speak to me about?" Kira asked as she started sparring with Genkai. It was a chore trying to keep up with her, Genkai's skills far surpassed her own. It seemed like every kick and punch Kira threw weren't even coming close to hitting their intended target.

Genkai caught one of Kira's punches in her hand then twisted the girl's arm behind her back causing Kira to yelp in pain and fall to her knees. "As you are well aware of, I'm quite old."

Kira jerked out of Genkai's grip and spun around with a kick, which Genkai easily dodged by decking her head. "So what?"

Genkai furrowed her brows as she evaded another spinning kick from her granddaughter. "Well, I'm not going to live forever." Genkai paused as Kira tried to punch her, however, Genkai moved to the side fluidly causing Kira to fall forward on her face from the inertia of the punch and the amount of energy she had put into it. Genkai put her foot on Kira's back, right in-between the shoulder blades which was considerably painful to Kira, before continuing. "When I die I intend to leave everything to you."

The teenage girl forgot for a moment she was tired and panting so hard she felt like she was going to cough up her lungs. "Huh?" She turned her head and looked at her grandmother as if she had been slapped across the face.

Genkai took her foot off of Kira's back. "Didn't you hear I word I said you dolt? I had the impression the two things growing out of the side of your head were ears or are they just there for decoration? Hm?" Genkai still had the flare of a young woman in her old age that was for sure.

Kira sat with her legs under her and her hands in her lap. "I understood what you said, but it was just surprising…that's all."

"How is that surprising? Do you have any idea how old I am?" Genkai said, closing her eyes.

"No…so, how old ARE you?" Kira inquired passively.

Genkai coughed into her hand before smacking Kira on the head again. "It's not polite to ask your elders their age. Didn't Rika teach you any manners?"

Kira rubbed her head while frowning. _Sonuvabitch. Why do I ALWAYS get hit on the damn head? No respect, I get no respect I tell ya. _

Kira put one hand on the ground while she held her head with the other gently. "Why me?"

"Do I really need to explain it to you?" Genkai sighed heavily. Sometimes she swore her granddaughter's head was filled with rocks instead of a brain. Where did this density come from? Certainly not from her side of the family. "I want a competent heir and someone who I trust to take care of my temple after I pass on."

Kira blinked a few times, letting the information soak in. Genkai trusted her? More than that, she thought she was competent! "For real?" Kira pressed on, not at all trying to hide her broad smile.

"Calm down, it will still be a few years before I die." Genkai said in exasperation as she noted how easily excited Kira received the news. "Now that's out of the way, is there anything you want to talk about before we start sparring again?"

Kira's smile faded into a grimace. "Well…I had this dream…"

"Did it involve Kokuei?" Genkai asked quickly.

Kira shook her head from side to side. "No, no! This was different. You see, I got knocked out and I had this dream that I was married to Kurama and had kids! Then at the engagement party he kissed me on the cheek and I pushed him away. Now, I feel really awkward around him. But what really bothers me is, was it a dream? Or is it something that is going to happen?"

Kira had spoken so fast, Genkai had had trouble keeping track however she got the gist of it.

"It sounds like it could either be two things: a dream and nothing more or a premonition of the future."

"Premonition?" Kira looked startled. "You're kidding, ne?"

"Do you know what a premonition is?" Genkai asked rolling her eyes.

"Of course!" Kira sat up straight with a spark in her eyes. "It's like seeing the future or something."

Genkai ran a hand over her face. "You're like a dumb down version of a dictionary, but more or less that is right. It isn't the future though, just merely a possibility of what may come to pass. It is, by no means, an inevitability. However, if it is a premonition it means you psychic powers are advancing. Who knows, you might become more powerful than me."

Kira scrunched her nose at this. "Really?"

"Of course," Genkai added hastily, "to get to my level will take years and years of training and all your training you've managed to forgotten in a matter of months. So, don't get cocky dimwit." She then beckoned Kira to get up onto her feet. "Now, let's see if you remember any of your training…"

…

Kira walked down the hallway slowly. She was so tired. Her grandmother was pure evil to make her spar for so long. She felt like her limbs were going to pop out of their sockets. She didn't even mind the fact that she had left her sweatshirt and beanie out on the sparring ground. She could feel beads of sweat roll down her face and her neck. It felt like insects walking over her skin, hundreds of them, tickling her body. She wanted a bath so badly right now. Her shirt was soaked with sweat to the point Kira felt as though she had been swimming in a pool instead of fighting.

Somehow, the hours had melted away while sparring with Genkai. Daylight had given way to darkness and it was when the moon was at its highest point in the sky that Genkai dismissed her with a satisfied look upon her face. Not all idiots were hopeless after all.

It had been a session mixed with yelling, frenzied punching and kicking and pain. Oh, the pain. Every muscle, even muscles she didn't even knew she had, ached.

"Kira."

"Hm?" The sweaty teenage girl glanced over her shoulder to see Kurama walking up behind her, he was the last person she expected to see. She stopped in her tracks, the sight of him made her heart beat erratically as her cheeks turned pink, thankfully, it was night so it was dark and her blush would be hard to catch in the darkness.

"I want to discuss something important with you." He said simply with a semi-serious tone to his voice.

_I don't need this right now._ Kira scrunched her nose. This was the LAST thing she needed right now. After having such a gloomy discussion with Genkai she didn't want to confront Kurama. It was clear what he wanted to talk about. She wanted to avoid the subject entirely and pretend it never happened, but her pretending wouldn't ease his pain or erase his memories. She turned to walk away, but he caught her wrist in his firm grip. Despite her pounding heart, she still had the presence of mind to wrench her wrist out of his grasp. "What?"

He cast his emerald eyes down at the floor, his eyes concentrating on the long dark shadows cast upon the floor made by the moonlight that peered through the windows.

"Well?" Kira demanded, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Does it bother you that much?" He asked quietly, his eyes now focused on her.

His hollow gaze made her feel somewhat uneasy. "Does what bother me?" She folded her arms across her chest stubbornly.

He stepped closer to her and leaned over so his warm breath fanned her neck. "That I like you."

Kira's mind groped for words to say however, everything was coming up blank. She inhaled sharply. "I don't know…"

"I'm going to be honest with you Kira," he said firmly. "I wish you would get over your own immaturity and grow up sometimes. Occasionally that's what makes you endearing, but even I have limits of what I can take and you're pushing me past mine."

Kira leaned against the wall and put her hands behind her back. It was so hard to listen to this from him. She never wanted to hurt him, but she always seemed to act before she thought things through.

Kurama could tell her thoughts were straying and put his hands on either side of her head on the wall to engage her once more. "Kira, just tell me now, I'm not the type to waste me time with a lost cause so, do you feel anything for me? Do you need me? Do you want me?"

"This isn't fair!" She protested, her hands clenched into balled up fists. "I don't want to hurt you and I never meant to, but cornering me like this isn't going to get me to jump into your arms like some giddy ass lovey-dovey schoolgirl." Just as Kira was about to kick her rebuttal into full swing, her stomach let out a loud and long growl. She went pink in the face and crouched down on the ground with her back still against the wall while hugging her abdomen, it was too late to evade any embarrassment, but sometimes curling up into the fetal position made her feel better.

Kurama's face went deadpan. He arched an eyebrow inquisitively at her. "Have you eaten anything today?" _That was poorly timed. I should've known Genkai kept her busy all day._

She shook her head slowly, her bangs hanging over her eyes now as she lowered her head. "Not really…" The last thing she had eaten had been before they had gone on the train ride.

He knelt down beside her and patted her on the back while sweatdropping. It looked like this conversation would have to wait. "Let's get you something to eat."

Kira stood up slowly, nodding her head. She began walking in the direction of Genkai's kitchen but immediately walked into a wall. "Stupid wall…"

"Kira…" Kurama said awkwardly, trying to hide his laughter. "Are you alright?"

Kira turned to face him only to notice that her bangs completely covered her eyes. Maybe she had let them grow a little too long without cutting them. "I can't…see…"

He put his hand on her forehead and lifted up her bangs. How was it that he couldn't stay mad at her for long? He grinned upon seeing her abashed expression. "You're such a klutz."

Kira pursed her lips together and crinkled her nose. "Tell me something I don't know…" The statement was clearly rhetorical.

Kurama put his hand on her back as he guided her to the kitchen, making sure she didn't walk into any more walls or trip over something.

**XXXXXX**

This chapter was a pain to write, so I'm glad it's over. –throws confetti into air- HUZZAH!

Dc-chan: Yeah, another update. Go me. I was listening to 'Pain' by Three Days Grace and some Halifax as I wrote this so yeah XP I was inspired to screw stuff up. It will get better in the next chapters though, I think this is the last chapter of Kira and Kurama problems. Whatev. Winter break is here. Yay. I'm so excited, can't you tell? I saw Eragon on Sunday…what a piece of crap it was. I wanted to cry, but instead I laughed to the annoyance of everyone in the theatre. I'm so cool that way.

NEXT CHAPTER: A Helping Hand

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

Hm. I don't know what to do with my Furuba fanfiction. I'm midway through the third chapter, but I dunno…I guess I'll just work on it when I feel like it. (I haven't felt that way in a long time though)


	24. A Helping Hand

WHEEE! 200 REVIEWS! Mucho love for everyone!

Dc-chan: MURTAGH! MURTAGH! MURTAGH! He's soooo hot…I hated the Eragon movie, but Garrett Hedlund who played Murtagh was perfect –drools-

MCT: Come back to earth Dc…

Seraph: She's gone mental.

MCT: This is a YYH story remember? Not Eragon.

Dc-chan: Murrrtaaaghhh…sexy man…OwO

MCT: She's lost.

Disclaimer: MURTAGH! I mean…I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, silly me.

Short chapter, NYA!

**DEDICATION: **This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 24 of Define 'Normal'

A Helping Hand

_Blood…it covered her hands…it was splattered everywhere. On the ground, on her clothes, across her face…everywhere. There was so much of it. It was like she was bathed in it. She didn't know where she was, but all she saw was crimson._

_A ghostly figure appeared before her with familiar black wings. His face was overshadowed by his bangs, but here was something familiar about him._

_She couldn't remember a name though. Her mind had gone blank from shock. It felt like she had almost gone numb, but for some reason there was an immense anger and hatred burning within her like a raging wild fire._

_"Are you mad at me?" _

_She looked up at the winged man in front of her, her brows slanted in a 'V' and tears welling up in the corners of her eyes._

_"Do you hate me?"_

_She clenched her fists so tightly that her own nails dug into the palms of her hands. An overwhelming feeling was taking over her. It was like a tornado of sorrow, loathing and helplessness. All of them whirled inside of her and she felt like she was going to burst and break down._

_"Why…" she whispered quietly to him, "…would I hate you?"_

_He turned his back to her and walked away, hiding his devilish grin from her and the malicious spark in his eyes. "Because I killed all of your friends. I don't want to share you with anyone. Especially not with that kitsune…"_

_Her eyes widened and she felt tears rolling down her flustered cheeks. Everyone was dead? He killed them? Why? Why? WHY? She fell onto all fours with her fingernails digging into the dirt ground, her back went rigid. This couldn't be happening, could it? Her tears fell onto the dirt, moistening it. She slowly raised her head back up towards him, her body shaking._

_His cold laughter rang in her ears… _

Kira's eyes shot open as she sat up abruptly, her breathing was heavily labored. Her forehead was dripping in perspiration and her sparring clothes were sticky and clinging to her body. She pushed her hair out of her eyes with her hands. _What the hell was that?_

Genkai bent over at her waist to stare down at her dazed granddaughter. Kira looked like a mess, a sickly pale unkempt teenage girl.

Kira finally remembered that she had been sparring with Genkai before the old woman had knocked her out, unintentionally of course.

"Are you alright?" Genkai asked, concern flickering across her face.

"Yeah…" Kira stood up, but had trouble maintaining her balance, she was feeling a bit dizzy. _Another gruesome dream. Why do I keep seeing these things? _What annoyed her the most was right after she awoke she hardly had any recollection of what the dream was about, but she knew it frightened her. The only thing she remembered was all the blood and the horrifying feeling of loneliness.

Genkai's face was solemn, but it was clear she was thinking. "You had another dream again." It wasn't a question. She could tell from the pained look on the girl's face exactly what was up.

Kira nodded and heaved an exasperated sigh. "They've been getting more frequent. I get them almost every night now. I don't know what to do about them. Do you have any ideas?" She looked at her grandmother hopefully.

Genkai stood up straight and put her arms behind her back. "I have ideas…but I want to be sure if I'm correct before I tell you them."

Kira pouted as she folded her arms across her chest and muttered to herself. "Stubborn old bat…"

…

Genkai enjoyed the fresh mountain air. As she sat by the front of her temple on a pillow with her legs folded under her whilst drinking a warm cup of tea, there wasn't any other place she would rather be.

She had been sitting outside for about twenty or so minutes. Normally, she would be busy overseeing her students training, but she was meeting with Botan today about a very pertinent issue. Through the bubbly ferry girl, Genkai had been in communication with Koenma and both had decided that something must be done about Kira's strange dreams.

Both had agreed on a few possible theories, but still neither one knew the truth behind them. However, they did know that they needed to take precautions after Genkai told him that when Kira had her first dream involving Kokuei she had been psychically harmed. They come up with a reasonable solution, but it would only work if their theory was right. Their theory was that due to Kira's psychic powers and connection with Kokoro was the cause of such apparitions. The solution was to considerably restrict Kira's psychic powers. A solution, they both knew, would not bode well with the teenage girl.

That was why Botan was coming, to deliver a potion that would accomplish such a thing. However, they needed to keep everyone in the temple in the dark about the plan incase Kira read their minds. Not even Kurama was aware of the plan.

Genkai took a nice long hot sip of it and let it warm the back of her throat before swallowing it as she tried to put the thought of almost completely diminishing Kira's powers and only means for defense against demons in the back of her mind. It was for Kira's own good even though Kira would throw a fit over it once she found out.

"GET BACK HERE URAMESHI!"

"MAKE ME YOU FLAT CHEST MIDGET!"

"IF YOU CALL ME THAT ONE MORE TIME I SWEAR I'LL CUT OUT YOUR TONGUE SO YOU CAN NEVER SPEAK AGAIN YOU ASS!"

Genkai's eyes twitched. When they weren't here she could relax. Those two together had a way of annoying the living hell out of anyone in close proximity.

Just as Yusuke and Kira ran by she yelled at them.

"SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO TRAINING SLACKERS!" She roared with such ferocity that both teenagers stopped dead in their tracks.

"But he took my shoe…" Kira whined sullenly.

"That's because you attacked me with chopsticks this morning at breakfast!" Yusuke retorted hotly, tapping said stolen shoe against her forehead mockingly.

"Give it back!" She cried as he held it over his head, far out of her reach. She raised her hands over her head and couldn't take them back despite the fact she was now standing on her tiptoes. "Now you're making fun of because I'm short…"

"GET BACK TO TRAINING BOTH OF YOU!" Genkai bellowed threateningly. She glared at them as both teenagers carefully backed off before running away from her. Genkai gritted her teeth. _Those two really give me migraines…_

Kira and Yusuke quieted down immediately, their wide eyes filled with fear. The two slowly edged away, not wanting to endure the wrath of the old woman. As soon as they were out of Genkai's sight the screaming and shouting ensued once more making Genkai's temple throb in aggravation.

"Stupid kids…" she muttered to herself. She folded her arms across her chest and closed her eyes. And to think that those two juveniles were her apprentices! She had trained them and groomed them to use their powers and they run around her temple fighting instead of training. Some things never changed…they reminded her of puppies and how they would rough house with one another all in good fun. At least they were good kids. Genkai smiled slightly before she heard a loud crashing sound that made her wince.

"URAMESHI! YOU BROKE THE SCREEN DOOR!"

"WELL, YOU SHOVED ME INTO IT!"

"NO I DIDN'T! THAT WAS KAMIYAMA!"

"DON'T SHIFT THE BLAME TO ME!"

_Maybe things will quiet down once she's taken that potion…she may not like it, but we have no choice if we want to keep her safe._

Just as Genkai felt she was about to head over there to give the teenagers a piece of her mind she saw Botan in the sky, flying on her oar over the tall trees.

Botan landed gracefully in front of her, her pink kimono fluttered as she came to a stop. "Hello, how have you been?" She said happily with a deep bow showing her respect.

"As fine as a woman my age can be." Genkai replied sullenly. She stared for a minute at her aged ravaged hands before returning her attention to the ferry girl. She raised an eyebrow. "Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Botan said smiling as she reached up one of her sleeves and drew out a small cylindrical bottle with a purple liquid in it. "We went through quite a bit of trouble in Reikai to find someone who could make this on such short notice." She stepped to Genkai and held the bottle out for her.

Genkai reached out for it and studied it as she held it in her own hands. Creases appeared on her forehead as she examined it. "Who concocted this?"

Botan shrugged innocently. "Koenma-sama wouldn't give me any names, but he guarantees it will work." Botan sat down next to Genkai. "How's everyone doing? I've been so busy I hardly get to see any of them."

"They all seem happy," Genkai replied as she picked up her cup of tea again. She stared at the tealeaves floating in it for a second before continuing. "I can't help think though, that this is the calm just before the storm." She sipped her tea then sighed heavily.

Botan put her index finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Hm, Koenma-sama has been thinking on the lines as well. It does seem oddly peaceful. Usually Yusuke and the others have one case right after another. So now I'm stuck with Koenma-sama in his office all day trying to find out if anything is going on off our radar in Makai."

"Have you found anything?" Genkai questioned interestedly.

Botan pouted. "No…it's bizarre really." She then got a kittenish look in her eyes. "So…has anything happened here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Aw, you know!" Botan said swaying back and forth happily like an excited little girl. "Are Kira and Kurama together yet or are they still beating around the bush like Keiko and Yusuke?"

Genkai stared at the ferry girl with a deadpan face. "Why does it matter?"

"Really? Perhaps they need someone to _help_ them along…"

"I would stay out of it." Genkai said quickly and a staid look in her brown eyes.

Botan put her hands up in front of her. "Just making suggestions." She then stood up and grabbed her oar. "I'll come back to visit everyone later." She waved cheerfully as she hopped back onto her oar and flew off into the sky.

Genkai looked back down at the bottle she was holding with a grim expression. _Giving this to Kira would leave her almost completely defenseless…but it has to be this way until we can figure what her dreams mean._ The old woman half closed her eyes as her fingers closed around the slender bottle in the palm of her hands in her resolve. _It must be done._

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Another chapter down and next one is that ever so special holiday chapter. Can you feel the holiday love? FEEL IT DAMMIT! I listened to Psycho le Cemu while I wrote this so I was happy. YUME KAZAGURUMA IS THE COOLEST SONG! Why did the band hafta break up? D:

Thanks for the reviews, I thought the last chapter was a piece of crap, but I guess I'm a little too critical of myself at times.

Helena Valentine: Sankyuu for the review. I totally understand what you mean about Kira being OOC in the previous chapter. I just wanted to do something that lightened the mood, but I guess I made Kira seem too stupid. My only explanation for that is she was feeling flustered and people tend not to be themselves when they're frazzled (she can't really handle her feelings well too…). I'll be sure to make her stay in character from now on.

NEXT CHAPTER: His Little Rose (Holiday chapter thing, hopefully it will be up by Tuesday)

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!


	25. His Little Rose

HOLY CRAP BATMAN! WE HAVE AN UPDATE!

Okay, so earthquakes have been scaring the shit outta me and I just remembered that I had a lot of school work to do this week because I didn't do it last week. Then I got sidetracked watching Friday Night Lights and Four Brothers over and over again so yeah…my bad. Then I went crazy trying to fix the dryer in the basement cuz I think I broke it…somehow…I know… I suck.

Now time for something completely different!

Dc-chan: HEY EVERYONE! How were your holidays? Mine was spiffy! I got a scanner and do you know what that means? –long awkward pause- …it means I can put pictures up on my deviantART account! –jumps up and down- EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!

(note the stupid complete 180-degree mood change XD)

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH. I just borrow the characters to fulfil my own devious amusement.

**DEDICATION**: This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 25 of Define 'Normal'

His Little Rose

The buildings on the busy streets of the city were lined with colorful lights. Festive lights were hung from lamppost to lamppost, like a never-ending string of white lights. The barren tree branches had thin layers of snow on them that occasionally fell on some unfortunate person who walked under them right at the wrong time. On the sidewalks there were alternating sheets of powdery snow and ice. The sun had just set so the sky was a dark purple and due to the city's haze, only a few stars could be seen, but the sliver of a moon hung overhead brightly like a shining beacon.

To make the mood even more elevating, it was Christmas. During this time of year Kira was accustomed to different traditions like presents and Santa movies. However, it didn't sink in last year during this time that Christmas in Japan was much different than the holiday in America where little children would eagerly await the arrival of Santa Claus. In Japan it was a holiday for couples, something which shocked the hell out of Kira when it was explained to her.

"Really?" Kira gave Kuwabara a disbelieving stare as if he was just pulling this out of his ass and expecting her to believe him.

"DUH! Geez, Kamiyama, you were here for Christmas last year and you didn't pick it up then?" He snickered at her confused face.

Kira clicked her tongue, feeling foolish in front of her friends. At least it was better being here than training at Genkai's, even if she was making an idiot out of herself. She would take that over training anytime. It had been a bit of a surprise that Genkai had given them the day off, but none of them complained about it. They all had been worked to the bone and until they felt like their muscles were about to explode from pain. Genkai had specifically been hard of Kira and Yusuke during their first week, mainly because Kurama and Kuwabara weren't her students. She probably regarded their presence there with as much attention as one would give to a blank wall.

So, there the four of them were walking around in the city, pleasantly enjoying themselves. Due to the cold weather they were all wearing heavy jackets, scarves and pants except for Kira who wore a knee length skirt and stockings that covered her shins. Everyone time they breathed or talked a warm white puff of breathe would escape their lips and linger in front of them for a second before disappearing into the cold air.

"Anyways," Kuwabara continued nonchalantly as he put his hands into his pockets, "I'm meeting Yukina somewhere. See you guys at the train later."

"Yeah, I'm meeting Keiko so I'll be going. I don't want to be slapped again." Yusuke chimed in as he and Kuwabara took off in opposite directions, leaving Kira and Kurama standing by themselves on a street corner.

_No! Don't leave me here alone with him! _Kira screamed at them in her head. Despite the fact that she and Kurama had been getting along well the past few days, she was nervous to be alone with him.

Kurama didn't seem to mind Yusuke and Kuwabara's departure, in fact, he preferred to have some time with Kira to himself. Although he could tell from the apprehensive look in Kira's eyes that she wasn't thinking the same thing. He soon realized that his eyes were glued on Kira, she was wearing her hair up in two half-ups like she had on that night when he had kissed her on the cheek. He pried his eyes off of her, remembering the pain of that night. _Go slow with her. _He told himself.

"Is there anything you want to do tonight?" He asked her with a smile.

Kira looked up at him with wide innocent eyes, almost as if she was astonished that he was talking to her. She quickly furrowed her brows and tried to play it off cool as she answered in a nonchalant voice. "Not really…" She then spied an ice-skating rink at the park across the street from where they were and immediately forgot that she was trying to act like she didn't want to do anything. "That could be fun though," she rolled her teeth over her bottom lip as she added in a whisper, "but we ice skated last year."

"That shouldn't stop you if you want to do it again." Kurama said as he unconsciously grabbed her hand. "Do you want to?" He asked the question earnestly.

Kira's face reddened, but for some reason she didn't mind him holding her hand so much this time. "Yeah." She nodded her head. She liked the feeling of him holding her hand now and she didn't know why, his hand was so warm and gentle it gave her a budding feeling of security.

A few minutes later both of them were sitting on a bench next to the rink lacing up their rented ice-skates. Kira double knotted her laces just to be safe, knowing her luck they would probably somehow magically happen to slip off of her foot and cause her to land flat on her face.

As soon as she finished she got onto the ice rink and waited for Kurama. He followed her with an unsure expression on his face. The whole situation was feeling awkward to both of them now, however both seemed to be trying to maintain their poise.

"Man, if everyone else was here this would be just like last year." Kira said reminiscing, breaking the silence between the two. "I think that was the first time I ever really spent with a group of kids my own age and had fun."

Kurama looked down at her as they skated beside each other with raised eyebrows. "Didn't you have friends in New York?"

"Well…I don't know if I could call them friends, that's an awfully strong word to use. I just hung out with them because nobody else would talk to me, but them. They were the trouble making kind of kids so it was kinda expected of me to be in their little group." She explained with a frown. "To be honest though, I never liked any of them. They were all assholes."

He didn't know what to say. To be honest with himself, he never thought about what it was like growing up for her in New York. She seemed like the type of person who attracted other people without trying to with her energetic and cynical demeanor. He knew she had trouble getting close to people, but it was almost impossible for him to imagine her not having any friends. She always enjoyed being around Yusuke, Kuwabara and everyone else, but he started wondering how close she felt with them and how well any of them actually knew her.

Kira started becoming uneasy by his silence. She lowered her eyes to the ice that she was skating on, trying to focus on the curves in the ice craved by other skaters.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurama asked quietly, sounding concerned. This was an opportunity to learn more about her, maybe this would give him some insight about her.

She crinkled her nose as she began skating backwards so she could face him while talking. "Not really…it's kinda boring."

"Kira." He said rolling his green eyes. "If it's you we're talking about, how can it be boring? You're not a boring person."

She laughed at him. "I guess not, I always thought my life would making an interesting reality TV show." She bit her bottom lip and put her hands behind her back. "I just don't like thinking about what happened." Kira then gave him a sly look. "I suppose I will divulge my deepest darkest secrets to you about my gloomy past, but in exchange you have to answer a question I ask you," she paused before adding hastily, "honestly."

"That sounds fair." He replied with a half smile. "So, what happened in New York?"

Kira exhaled heavily before she started in a lowered voice, "It's quite stupid really. At first, everything was dandy, but you know how it gets in later in elementary school. Everyone started forming cliques and usually everyone fits into one, but somehow I got left out. Kids started picking on me probably thinking that because I didn't have any friends that I wouldn't be able to defend myself. Boy, were they wrong." She shook her head as she remembered some of those memories when someone tried to tease her, but she gave them a good ass kicking in return. "It was like that until middle school, that's when I started hanging out with those assholes."

"You think that's stupid?" He asked breathlessly.

Kira shrugged. "The reason I said it was stupid was because when I think about it, everyone feels like they don't fit in and I'm sure there's a point in everyone's life when they feel like they don't belong anywhere. Maybe I didn't try to fit in…maybe I was just the sacrificial lamb in the social cesspool they call school. I'm just embarrassed that I used to be that way. I used to think something was wrong with me." She laughed jokingly at herself.

It all seemed to place itself together in Kurama's head as if he was finally able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He had never known this about her before and it was starting to make sense to him. It wasn't that she didn't want to get close to people it was just she didn't know how.

She stopped skating and leaned against the wall that surrounded the ice rink. "Stupid, ne?" She grinned up at him despite the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had never told anyone about that before, it felt good to get it out in the open. "Now," she stated as she friendly punched Kurama on his shoulder, "I get to ask you a question."

"Hm?" Kurama blinked, he had almost forgotten about that little term. He apprehensively watched her as she stood up straight with her lips formed in a mischievous smirk. He sweatdropped, not knowing what to expect from her. It was almost impossible for him to guess what was on her mind most of the time.

"And remember," she said while wagging a finger at him, "you have to be completely honest with me."

"S-sure." He stuttered, trying to ignore the fact that she looked cute when she was being serious. "What is it?"

She pursed her lips together for a moment, almost as if she was rethinking what she wanted to ask him. "Well…it's really just a dumb question now that I'm thinking about it, but I want to hear what you have to say." Kira took a deep breath and plunged in, there was no going back now. "Do you really like me in, you know, _that _kind of way?"

Kurama felt his body tense, he certainly wasn't counting on being asked that. However, his shock was quickly replaced with an angry annoyance. Wasn't it obvious at all? He wanted to scream. He wanted to shake her until it penetrated that thick skull of hers. How did Rika raise such a dense daughter?

"Well?" Kira pressed as she twiddled her thumbs. "I just want to know."

He put his hands on her rosy cheeks and locked eyes with her. "Kira, what makes you think I don't like you _that _way?"

"I just wanted to hear you say it." She said simply as she dropped her arms to her sides. "I understand words better than actions."

"Really?" He said calmly with a hint of deviousness in his tone. "Then you'll understand it when I say that I do like you."

She nodded slowly, a blush spreading across her face. "I understand that quite well. You know, it's kinda funny," she pulled away from him slightly, "when I first came back here I thought it was just going to be another dead end in my life, but it wasn't. Some good things happened, some bad things happened…" Kira trailed off and scratched the side of her head. "Look at me, I'm rambling."

Kurama stared at her, his complete opposite in almost every aspect. In her own weird way she was saying she liked him too. Of course she wasn't the type to be straight forward.

"Kira," he hesitantly wrapped an arm around her small waist and pulled her in against his chest while his free hand entwined his fingers in her hair, "I really do like you."

Kira hesitantly raised her hands to grasp the front of his jacket, she clutched the fabric in her trembling hands. "You're not just saying that to get into my pants, are you?" She chided, despite how vulnerable she was feeling. She was a hopeless little puddle of goo in his arms. If he wanted to whisk her away right this second she didn't think she had the presence of mind to stop him.

He gently laughed into her hair. "Yes Kira, you've figured me out. How did you know my plan all along?"

"Lucky guess." She replied tilting her head up to look at him. "I always knew you were a pervert. No way a guy as straight edge as you couldn't have a few little nasty secrets, but alas, I have found you out."

"You know exactly how to ruin a tender moment."

"It's a gift."

"Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Yeah…."

They returned their rented ice skates and left the rink. By the time they left, it was lightly snowing and had gotten a bit colder. Kira had latched herself to Kurama's arm in an effort to stay warm. It was still early in the evening so they didn't feel rushed to do anything, but they had to keep in mind that the last train ride out to where Genkai lived would depart at 11:00PM. That gave them roughly 3-4 more hours to gallivant around the city.

Kira leaned her head against his shoulder and laced her fingers with his. "Where are we going?" It occurred to her that they had started walking without a planned destination.

"The park?" He suggested languidly. "I bet there isn't anyone there. It should be nice and secluded."

"You ARE trying to get into my pants, perverted kitsune." She teased jovially.

"No, I just thought that it would be nice to be somewhere where there aren't many people around." Kurama responded rather crossly. He squeezed her hand. "Youko is the one who wants to get into your pants, I'm very different than him."

"You're right," Kira agreed, "Youko's libido is too active for his own damn good."

"So, do you want to go to the park?"

"Lead the way."

It was just as Kurama predicted, the park was desolate. A fresh blanket of snow, which sparkled in the moonlight, covered the trees and the grass in the park as well as the benches. So much for sitting down on one.

"It is really quiet." Kira noted as her eyes darted back and forth between the shadows of the trees. "Almost scary."

"Do you want to go back?" Kurama gestured over his shoulder to the city.

"Hell no." She replied tugging him forward.

It was so quiet and peaceful. It was the kind of tranquility that was enjoyed as they strolled through the park. Kira was content with telling Kurama corny jokes as she hung onto his arm and he would always laugh politely or raise an eyebrow.

"You have no sense of humor." Kira noted with a sigh.

"I do, just not one for tasteless jokes." He replied.

She crinkled her nose at him. "I suppose I won't tell you the one about emo grass and normal grass then…" She said with a slight frown. It was then that she heard the sound of snow crunching beneath someone's feet. "Eh?" Kira looked over her shoulder where the strange noise had come from and squinted her eyes as she tried to peer through the dark shadows. _I've got a bad feeling._

Kurama stiffened as a familiar scent filled his nostrils.

Kira noticed his concerned face and pulled at his sleeve. "What is it?"

He remained quiet for a moment, his eyes darting around trying to figure out where it was going to come from. His sensitive ears picked up the faint noise of footsteps on their left. Without a seconds delay, he grabbed Kira and pulled her out of the way just a as a small shadowy creature leapt out from behind a bush, swinging its claws violently at them.

"What the…that isn't what I think it is, is it?" Kira asked as they stared down the shadow creature. She remembered when she and Kurama had encountered a horde of these things in his classroom a little more than a month ago.

Kurama's hands tightened into fists as he yelled. "Ranmyaku? What is the meaning of this?"

They heard the sound of clapping and whirled around to see the culprit leaning against a tree with an amused smirk on his face. "Good to see you two again." He ran a gloved hand through his light blonde hair. He snapped his fingers and his minion disappeared into a small black cloud of smoke. "I just like keeping people on their toes. I'm not here to start a fight, I just wanted to catch your attention."

"Well, you sure as hell have it now." Kira hissed through clenched teeth. "Why are you here? Zetsubou is dead, isn't he?"

Ranmyaku held his stomach as he laughed at her statement. He wiped a tear of laughter from his right eye before answering. "Yes, he sure is. Not that any of us care. I'm here to deliver a message to the kitsune."

"What is it?" Kurama asked after quickly raising a hand up to silence Kira before she could say something.

"Don't get too attached." Ranmyaku said blandly as he put his arms behind his head and walked in a circle around the two teenagers.

Kurama stared at him with ruthless eyes. He knew what Ranmyaku was talking about while Kira was still busy mulling those words over in her head. It made perfect sense.

It was a threat.

A threat to him from Kokuei.

"So, you really worked for _him_, didn't you?" Kurama didn't want to disclose the name in front of Kira. It would only cause more problems especially since she had so much faith that Kokuei wasn't a bad guy at all.

Ranmyaku grinned from ear to ear. "You are a clever kitsune." He paused as he put his hand over his mouth to snicker before continuing. "He also asked me to leave you with a parting gift. I think you'll like it." He grabbed his own left arm and a dark swirling black energy began surrounding it at once. "Sword of Bones!"

The sword that was made of the bones from Ranmyaku's arm had doubled in length from their last fight and the blood that dripped from the tip of the blood melted the snow it landed upon, almost is if it were acidic. Someone had clearly been doing their training and taking their morning vitamins.

"Kira, get out of the way." Kurama warned as he reached into his hair and pulled out his Rose Whip.

"No way-"

"Kira." He said sternly, side glancing at her. "I don't want you to get hurt. This is between him and me."

"But-"

"Please."

Kira heaved her shoulders over in defeat and took a few huge steps backwards. Even she knew that arguing in this situation would only make it worse and it would distract Kurama.

Ranmyaku lifted his sword over his head before lunging at Kurama and slashing downwards with the blade. Kurama rolled out of the way just in time for Ranmyaku only to hit the thin layer of snow beneath their feet. Kurama whipped his whip around, trying to destroy Ranmyaku's weapon, as he preferred not to kill someone in front of Kira. However, Ranmyaku pulled his sword out of the way so Kurama's Rose Whip wouldn't slice through it. It wasn't easy to tell who had the advantage in this battle. Both had advantages and disadvantages. Fighting from long range enabled Kurama to avoid most of Ranmyaku's attacks, but Ranmyaku's surprising increase of speed made it hard for him to get a direct hit.

The struggle went on back and forth, their attacks becoming increasingly fierce with every strike.

Kurama tried to grope his mind for how he could end this fight. His eyes studied Ranmyaku carefully as he tried to catch his breath. Ranmyaku yielded no indications of tiring and wasn't even sweating. Something was not right. There was something about his opponent that seemed different from the first time they fought, obviously his sword was massive compared to what it had been, but their was something else…something he couldn't quite place.

He was about to conjure a plant to grab Ranmyaku and restrain him of his movements, but he was too slow. Ranmyaku's blade swiftly slashed his chest, tearing his jacket as blood splattered onto the white snow. Kurama double override from the gash as it stung painfully. He gripped his chest as blood spilled over his hands. He could feel the wound was quite deep, but at the same time it was nothing extremely serious, however, it felt as if someone might as well had given him a paper cut between the wedges on his fingers.

Ranmyaku stood in front of Kurama with a decisive sneer on his face. "From my master to you, this will be your only warning." He then vanished in a black portal, leaving no trace or footprint left behind, as if he was never there.

Kira ran over to Kurama and knelt down beside him. "Kurama?" Her voice was filled with panic and concern. She put his arm around her neck and helped him onto his feet slowly. "Can you walk?"

"Yes…it's just a scratch on my chest. I'll be fine."

Kira narrowed her eyes. "You won't be fine if you bleed to death, so start moving." She ordered harshly, not knowing that the wound was less serious than it appeared. In her mind images of how she envisioned beating the crap out of Ranmyaku played over and over. _Bastard. Just what the hell is he doing here anyway?_ _And what did he mean by, "Don't get too attached," anyway?_

…

"I got you some more bandages Kurama!" Kira said as she kicked the door to his room open and walked in carrying another five rolls of medical tape in her arms.

Kurama sweatdropped as he sat at the foot of his bed. "Kira, I don't need anymore. I think this is over kill." He then pointed to his chest, which was devoid of his shirt now, indicating to her that he had already wrapped his own wound. He still couldn't help, but think it was cute of her to run out to a drugstore this late at night to get more medical tape for him even when he didn't need it.

"It's the thought that counts anyway." She pouted and dumped the rolls of tape beside him on his bed. "Then we'll just use them when it's time to change your bandages then." She glanced over to the digital clock on his bedside table and exhaled heavily. "It's already past midnight…we missed the train back to Genkai's. Gram's gonna kill me." She flopped down on his bed with her arms spread out.

"We'll just get up early tomorrow and catch a train then. She'll understand when we tell her what transpired tonight." Kurama reasoned as he laid down on his back next to her, his chest writhed in pain for a brief second, but it quickly subsided and he was able to relax next to her.

"Some Christmas, ne?" Kira commented stifling a yawn. She turned on her side so she was facing him. "Does it still hurt?"

"A little." He responded honestly turning his head to look at her. "I'll be fine though."

"Who said I was worried? All you youkai jump back quickly." Kira retorted rolling her eyes. She sat back up and put her hands in her lap. It was too late for her to go home and she didn't think she would be able to walk to her place without falling asleep in the middle of the sidewalk. "Looks like I'm staying here tonight." She grumbled scratching her chin. "You're stuck with me, Kurama."

"I don't have any objections." He said fondly as he placed his hand on the small of her back.

Kira felt her cheeks turn red at the show of affection. This was something she was going to have to get used to if she and Kurama were going to be together. Over time, she supposed she would, but right now it felt very awkward for her. It felt like she was wobbling around in three-inch heels.

"Of course you don't." She remarked icily, laying back down next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. "You just can't wait to take my panties off, can you?"

Kurama's face flushed. "Can you please refrain from using those poor jokes? You might give Youko ideas."

_It's not like Youko didn't try before though, _Kira reminded herself bitterly. She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, wouldn't want to do that." She lazily put her arm around his midsection, not knowing if it was something that was okay to do ,but she was too tired to care either way. "Night, I'm going to sleep."

Kurama blinked at her. "Like this?" Both of their legs were dangling over the side of the bed and the light in his room wasn't even turned off yet. He thought it would be rather uncomfortable sleeping in this position, but his muscles ached too much to protest any further.

Kira laughed at him. "Yeah, it's not like I'm going to get under the covers with you just yet." She stuck her tongue out at him before closing her eyes and entering a quiet sleep.

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: Yeah…there's now a picture of Kokuei on my DA account (and he's shirtless, go figure) so check it out.

NEXT CHAPTER: Afterthoughts

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

(GARRETT HEDLUND! Hehe, I love him.)

Reviews are GREATLY appreciated! -wink, wink, nudge, nudge-

P.S. Check out my Eragon story, _Spiraling Out of Control_, if you want to decrease your IQ by about 20 points. That's going to be the next big project I'm working on besides some other odds and ends. Also it will make me happy and motivate me to update THIS story faster, okies? Which reminds me…this story only has about ten chapters left!


	26. Afterthoughts

Bah. I rewrote this chapter 9 times (yes, I counted) and I have come to the conclusion that I'm becoming too obsessive with this story. After all, it's just a fan fic…not a fucking novel. So, therefore I say: Fuck it.

Dc-chan: Argh. I'm annoyed with myself right now. I have all these half-written chapters for other fics that I thought I would put up, but I never did because I realized I would NEVER follow through with them (I have an Ouran Host Club one and a Crescent Moon one that I've been sitting on for weeks). Then, to aggravate myself further, I reread this story (for the millionth time) and realized that there are so many loose ends and unexplained things (don't get me started on those either…) that there will inevitably have to be a THIRD installment. That could be a good thing though as I'm rather fond of Kira now. However, I am getting rather bored writing this story. It's been almost a freaking year…where does the time go? Anyway, I've already written the last chapter of this story and I'm quite pleased with it (hence the wait between updates), but all of you will have to wait to read it. HAHA! Victory is MINE! I just have to work out everything between this chapter to that chapter in the meantime…argh.

MCT: You've gotten lazy recently.

Seraph: Yeah, an entire month and no updates. What's with that, huh?

Dc-chan: It's called supreme laziness and procrastination. I can't help it. Really. I can't. Oh, and there was a huge writer's block in there somewhere…

Disclaimer: Don't own so please refrain from suing. YYH is the property of Yoshihiro Togashi. I merely own Kira's soul.

Kinda short chapter. P: I'm pretty scatterbrained so go easy on me.

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 26 of Define 'Normal'

Afterthoughts

Shiori busied herself with cooking breakfast in the kitchen. It was early in the morning and she felt tired, but she knew that if she didn't make breakfast for her family no one else would. She brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes and tucked them behind her ear gingerly with one hand as the other worked on stirring a bowl of pancake mix that was almost ready.

However, she was feeling a bit confused. She had been having trouble sleeping last night and had been feeling a bit under the weather, but she swore she heard Kurama go into his room last night.

Being curious as she was, she decided it would be better time to investigate now then never.

Leaving the bowl of pancake mix where it was she went upstairs to Kurama's room. If she remembered correctly, he had told her he was going away for two weeks for something school related. She didn't remember exactly what he had said, but she indeed recalled him telling her that he'd be away for two weeks.

She walked daintily to her son's door, being careful to not have the floorboards creak from under her. With the mixing spoon still in her right hand, she slowly turned the doorknob with her left and pushed the door open with utmost care. She opened it only a few inches, just enough for her to peer inside.

Shiori's eyes grew wide and her lips parted slightly in silent surprise at what she saw, but her lips gradually began to break into a softhearted smirk.

She spied her son sleeping on his bed with Kira cuddled up next to him, her hand around his midsection and tightly clutching the fabric of his shirt and her head resting on his shoulder. However, she was a little shocked to see her son's hand placed rather 'forwardly' and protectively on Kira's lower back. She had no idea her own son could be so forward, especially with a girl like Kira.

Both were sleeping so soundly and looked so comfortable that Shiori knew she would feel guilty if she roused them for something as trivial as breakfast. She hummed quietly to herself as she cautiously closed the door to his room and twirled the spoon in her hand as she walked back to the kitchen, a small smile on her delicate face.

_My son has a girlfriend!-and it's Kira-chan! I must call Rika! _Such a golden opportunity was too good to pass up. But first…she had to finish making pancakes.

* * *

_She was immersed in darkness again. She couldn't see anything, everything was black. She felt like there was a huge knot welling up in her stomach, nauseating her, making her want to scream at the top of her lungs because it felt so terrible._

_She raised her hands to her eye-level and brought them close to her face. Ever so faintly, she could see the outline of her tiny hands. Maybe her eyes were finally adjusting to the dark? She breathed a heavy sigh of relief however; everything around her was still shrouded in darkness._

_Her ears picked up the sound of faint laughter that gradually become louder and louder until it was right next to her ear. She could feel someone's warm breath against her ear, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up as her body involuntarily trembled while their laughter rang in her ears. _

_She whirled around and groped in the darkness with her hands only to find no one was there. She was alone and frightened._

_She sank to the cold ground beneath her feet as she buried her face in her arms to hide her tears…_

Kira's eyes slowly fluttered open. She felt stiff so she stretched her arms over her head casually before remembering not to move too much or else she'd wake up Kurama. Despite her desire to stay still she sat up anyway. She brought her knees in close to her chest and rested her head on her folded arms then focused her eyes on Kurama.

She had a hunch that they were 'together' now, if that even meant anything. Last night, before she had fallen asleep, her mind had been filled with her own ideas and expectations that were now on going to be expected of her: Would she call him her boyfriend? Would they go on dates? Would they hold hands in public?

After all, such things were expected, weren't they? It seemed quite absurd to her. Would she now have to change in order to keep a relationship with him? Public display of affection really wasn't her thing.

She felt like chuckling at her perception on relationships for it seemed rather shallow.

However, her dream still lingered in her mind. It was like a bad taste that was stuck in her mouth, like she had just eaten some very rotten eggs and she felt that at any moment she was going to puke. She felt almost sick with herself.

_That dream…it's like the same thing almost every time, but this time he wasn't in it. Though I'm pretty sure that was him laughing._

Kokuei...that was his laughter, she was positive there was no doubt about it.

To be honest with herself, she didn't want to think too much about it now. Here she was laying peacefully with her boyfriend, even just calling him that in her mind made her cheeks flush furiously, and she was thinking about another guy. But could she blame herself? It was hard to think about one person when another is constantly haunting your dreams. However, she found it quite hard to preoccupy her wandering thoughts with anything else other than the topic of Kokuei.

She continued to gaze at Kurama and grinned slightly at how peaceful he looked sleeping. It didn't seem possible that the demon spirit of Yoko resided within him. He was so cute with his eyes closed and wisps of crimson hair in his face. Still, not even his lovable appearance while slumbering could make her feel less guilty about having thoughts of Kokuei as well as ones about him.

When did her life get so complicated? When had it suddenly become similar to a crummy cable soap opera?

It was then that she was noticed how her eyes were brushing over him. She hadn't realized he had abs or even biceps before, but now all these things suddenly became apparent to her. She now understood why the girls at the school fawned over him, he was like an Adonis: handsome, muscular, smart…

The girls at school would kill her if they ever found out that she had slept next to him…and that she had seen him without a shirt on. Her eyes moved down lower and lower his body and she immediately blushed as she pried her eyes away momentarily, cursing at herself under her breath. When did she become such a _pervert_? Was it natural to take notice of these things now? She couldn't help, but feel like a dirty old man.

_Pervert._ She told herself bitterly. _You're starting to think like Yoko. Get your mind out of the gutter!_

She saw Kurama stir in his sleep and gradually open his eyes. He ran a hand through his red hair as he sat up and gave her a slightly confused smile. "Good morning. Is everything all right?" He saw her strained expression right off the bat and it unsettled him. "Kira?"

"I'm fine…" she replied quietly before returning the smile as she feebly tried to keep her cheeks from turning a brighter shade of red. What would he think if she told him that just a few moments ago she was checking him out? She hugged her knees and rocked back and forth. "How's your injury?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"To be honest," Kurama said putting a hand on the blood dampened bandage carefully, "it still hurts a lot. It should only take a few weeks to heal though." He applied slight pressure to his ribs and winced when an instantaneous sharp pain followed. At least it wasn't too serious, but it hurt quite a bit.

"That's good." Kira bit her bottom lip. _Now what?_

Kurama was unconvinced that nothing was wrong. He didn't even have to ask if something was up, he could just tell by reading her sullen face even if she was smiling shyly at him. It wasn't like she was trying to hide it though, it almost as if she was daring him to ask, but he wouldn't. They had taken a big step in their relationship last night, to pry where his nose didn't belong now might set them back to square one especially if it was a moody subject that was bothering her.

"We should get going." He said climbing off his bed and getting to his feet. He grabbed a roll of medical tape off the bed that was next to Kira and walked over to his bedroom door, he rested his hand on the doorknob then looked over his shoulder at her. "Will you be alright by yourself for a few minutes?"

Kira nodded. "Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom to redo my bandages and apply antiseptic."

Kira stared at him for a moment before looking away. "O-okay…" she said shakily. She watched intently as he left the room and closed the door behind him. Kira then sat cross-legged on Kurama's bed with her arms folded across her chest. She vaguely began wondering how pissed off Genkai was going to be when they arrived later that morning…

* * *

The area around the bathroom sink was rather messy with an open bottle of antiseptic and numerous cotton swabs laying strewn about the counter top.

Kurama carefully wrapped the medical tape around his chest, being extremely cautious as to not cause himself unnecessary pain even though his wound was still stinging from the antiseptic he had applies. The old bandages, which now lay hidden at the bottom of a small wastebasket next to the sink, had been smeared with dried blood. Although the cut itself wasn't too deep, the impact of the blow had injured his ribs. Kurama couldn't fathom how Ranmyaku could've gotten so much stronger in such a short period of time. To cause such an injury with just a swing of his blade had indeed proved to Kurama that he had underestimated the demon.

When he finished putting the wrap on he put the antiseptic back into the medicine cabinet and wrapped the cotton swabs in some toilet paper before throwing them into the wastebasket. The last thing he wanted was for his mother or stepbrother to discover them, but who honestly went looking through wastebaskets in their free time anyway?

He flipped the light switch down as he left the bathroom. In the hallway he stifled a yawn, feeling the events of last night taking their toll on his energy.

He tried his best, as he made his way back to his bedroom, not to have the floorboards creak under his feet. Though as luck would have it whenever you try to deliberately be quiet and noiseless as a mouse, something always goes awry. The floorboard groaned loudly with each step he took. A vein in his forehead throbbed in irritation. It was like walking on glass and each piece of glass he was stepping on was exploding from under him. Perfect, just perfect. Even after all the centuries of thievery, he still was powerless against the one force and law that applied to every teenager: the more quiet you try to be, the more likely louder you will be especially when concerning activities that involve sneaking around. Not even he was immune to it.

"Shuichi?"

Kurama's ear perked up at the sound of his mother's voice coming from downstairs. He mentally cursed in his mind before quickly grabbing a white shirt from his stepbrother's clothes hamper that was in the hallway and putting it on hastily to hide his injury from her. He pulled down at the hem of the shirt furiously because it was a little too small on him. He then proceeded to stumble down the stairs while trying to adjust the shirt, which his elbow was now caught in the sleeve of.

His mother stuck her head out of the kitchen with an amused look as her son stepped off the bottom stair. "I thought I heard you walking about upstairs." Her voice was content and there was a twinkle in her dark eyes.

Kurama finally managed to get his arm through the sleeve. "How'd you know it was me?" He asked entering the kitchen, his forehead covered in beads of perspiration from wrestling the shirt on.

"Your stepbrother would never get up so early and your stepfather is out of town on a business trip, so who else could it have been?" Shiori answered, hiding her playful smile. "Did you sleep well?"

Kurama rubbed the back of his neck tensely. "Yes, I slept fine." He racked his brain to think of anything else to say. "Do you need help preparing breakfast?"

Shiori shook her head, "No, no. It's fine." She glanced at her son from the corners of her eyes. "Thank you for offering Shuichi. However," she tapped a finger against her chin, "I wonder if Kira would like to stay for breakfast."

Kurama froze, feeling slightly abashed my his mother's sudden proposal. He didn't know whether to be embarrassed or marvel at his mother's knack for knowing these sorts of things. He then leaned against a kitchen counter with his elbows resting on the counter top and grinned sheepishly.

"If it makes you feel any better, I haven't called Rika yet." Shiori told him as she began pouring the pancake mix on a sauce pan. "Although, that was my first instinct. Who could pass up on such juicy gossip?"

Kurama's face paled a little at the thought of his mother calling Rika. Knowing both adult women, he could easily imagine them cooing over how cute it was that he and Kira were now together. As much as he loved his mother he couldn't help, but cringe inwardly at how annoying that would be.

Shiori simply smiled at him. "Don't worry, it's alright. I'm just teasing. Rika will find out eventually, I suppose." She went back to making the pancakes, trying to resist the urge of being an overbearing mother and tell Kurama how happy she was that he finally had a girlfriend. It was so horribly tempting to just drop everything and give him a hug then run upstairs and give Kira an affectionate death grip hug as well. "I'll see you two later than, right?" Shiori had become so accustomed to her son leaving for long stretches of time that she hardly asked where he was gong anymore. As long as he checked in every few days, it was fine by her. She trusted her son.

"Yeah…" Kurama said as he turned on his heel to head back upstairs to get Kira. He had a feeling Genkai was going to be even angrier with him than Kira for taking so much time getting back. After all, they were supposed to go back last night, but the little encounter with Ranmyaku had prevented that from happening.

He opened the door to his room to find Kira still sitting quietly on his bed and, no surprise here, spacing out.

She blinked when she saw him and tilted her head to one side. "Are we going now?" She then lifted both of her eyebrows with immense interest when she eyed the shirt he was wearing. "Isn't that a little too small for you?"

Kurama went over to his dresser as he pulled the shirt off over his head and threw it playfully at her. "It's my stepbrother's."

Kira acted like she was repulsed as the said object landed on top of her head. "EW!" She grabbed it and flung it to the side, as if the mere fact that the shirt had touched her was an insult to her very person. "You need to be more careful with those kinds of things. They may have cooties or carry diseases currently unknown to mankind. How would you feel if I contracted some weird ass disease?"

He laughed as he opened his dresser drawer and took out a white button up shirt. "I doubt that would happen." He put his arms through the sleeves then proceeded to button up the front of it. Kurama mentally noted that Kira sounded much cheerier now, as if in that short amount of time being by herself had allowed her to mull over whatever was bothering her in her head.

Kira stood up and waited patiently by his bedroom door with spare medical tape in hand as he finished getting dressed. "Grams is going to be thrilled to see us."

"Thrilled?" Kurama said in a perplexed voice as he draped his arm over her shoulder. "I was thinking that she'd feel more along the lines of rage and fury."

"No, no. You see, she'll be so deliriously happy that we're back that she'll try to murder us." Kira explained to him with a wide grin.

"That's not much better..."

**XXXXXX**

I was listening to 'Miss Murder' by AFI when I finished this (the funny thing is, I don't really like that band). Surprising how some songs for certain chapters can get you in the mood to write again, no?

Dc-chan: Crap. Crap. Crap. I just bombed my Algebra 2 pop quiz. Crap. TTOTT Life SUCKS right now…

MCT: Are you being 'emo' now?

Dc-chan: oo; Yes, I think I am…DAMMIT! I DUN WANNA BE EMO! –starts rolling around on the floor like an idiot- GETITOFFME! GETITOFFME!

But….at least I updated, right?

NEXT CHAPTER: Ignorance is Bliss (Haha. I accidentally said that would be the title of this chapter, but I messed up. My mistake, that's the NEXT chapter, but I fixed it!)

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE.

Dc-chan

P.S. A HUGE thank you to all the people who listened to me ranting about my writer's block on AIM or Myspace. Without your support and encouragement I don't think this chapter would be up for another few months. :D THANKS!

Now…REVIEW!-or something…

Kthxbye P:


	27. Ignorance Is Bliss

Dc-chan: VA-VA-VOOOOOOOOM! I've found my muses again! Now I'm kinda happy. I got a math tutor and he's really cute so I feel much better about that class. I can't wait for this week (Feb18th-Feb24th) because I'm going to Washington DC to wreak havoc with some kids from my history class. FEAR US POLITICIANS! THE ANGSTY LIBERAL TEENS FROM THE BAY AREA ARE ON THEIR WAY! HERE WE COME CAPITAL HILL! XD PH34R!

Seraph: A week respite from your teenage woe! I look forward to that!

MCT: Indeed.

Dc-chan: XD –isn't listening to them-

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho is the respected property of Yoshihiro Togashi. All OCs and randomness in the story belong to me and only me. . No stealing! Grr!

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 27 of Define 'Normal'

Ignorance is Bliss

There are many pleasant things in the world to think about. Many things that would make you happy, smile and you would generally enjoy thinking about like: puppies, candy, ice cream, video games, imagining yourself thrashing the shit out of somebody who was pissing you off, setting things on fire for the hell of it, scaring random people, etc.

Despite all the wonderful things in the world one person could think about, death would probably be on the bottom of their list, far below schoolwork and work. Only one considered insane would be thinking about their own death when they were a mere fifteen (almost sixteen) years of age.

_Let's see…there's decapitation, dismemberment, drowning, stabbing with sharp objects, using some kind of freaky psychic power…what else? Hmm…_

Kira pursed her lips together and put her fist under her chin thoughtfully. The racket that the train was making was so loud she could barely hear her own thoughts over the constant cacophony.

"Do I even want to know what you're wondering about?" Kurama, who was in the seat next to her, asked as he glanced in her direction. She had been silent ever since they boarded the train almost an hour ago, which was something that was highly unusual for her.

"No, you really don't." Kira answered in a dull tone of voice as she folded her arms across her chest and sank back into her seat. "Unless you want to start a very random conversation on the many ways Genkai could kill someone."

Kurama decided to try and reassure her that a fatal fate was not waiting for either of them at the temple. "I'm sure when we explain to her what transpired she won't attempt to harm or kill us."

She scrunched her nose in indifference. "Says you. I wouldn't be surprised if she's busied Yusuke and Kuwabara with digging our graves."

Kurama laughed dryly at her dark sense of humor. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him even though it was a tad bit uncomfortable because of the armrest in-between them. She didn't seem to mind though nor did he.

"It'll be fine. You're worrying too much, just relax." He reprimanded in a soft voice. "On the bright side, if worst does come to worst, you still have over an hour to write your will." This comment earned him an angry sharp poke –more like jab- in his arm from Kira.

"That was not funny." She said coldly with a pout. "What if it does come to that? Do you have a pen and paper on you?"

He shook his head as he tried to contain more laughter. It was hard to tell if she was being serious or not, after all when did Kira take anything seriously except for a few occasions.

"You're surprisingly pessimistic." Kurama noted, while patting her head.

Kira scowled unhappily at him. "And you're taking this too lightly."

Suddenly the train lurched to a stop, sending the other passengers in the compartment and themselves sprawling over their seats.

"What the-"

The loudspeaker in the train car crackled loudly before a husky and almost incomprehensible voice came on. "Excuse us for the sudden stop, but the train is experiencing a mechanical difficulty right now. The cold weather has frozen the engine. We hope to have the mechanics here within the hour to commence maintenance right away so we can continue with our planned route. Sorry for the delay."

Kira's jaw dropped and she was overcome by a sudden urge to bang her head against the window. _Why here? Why now? Stupid winter! Dammit!_

She groaned dismally as she withdrew from Kurama's embrace, "I'm going to be killed…again. It's probably another conspiracy, someone wants me dead for sure now."

Kurama ran his hand over his face, the stress of being delayed on their way to Genkai's finally beginning to get to him. He knew Genkai wouldn't actually kill them for these situations happening outside of their control, but that still didn't mean that she wouldn't be ticked off. The old woman's wrath was something to be feared.

_This blows. _Kira thought tartly as the hopelessness set in that there was nothing that could be done until the mechanics defrosted the engine.

…

It was midday, the sun hung high in the sky amongst scattered clouds and what little white snow there was on the ground was melting into puddles of water slowly. The weather was pleasant enough in the mountains and all was peaceful for the time being. The only thing, or in this case person, who threatened that peace was sitting cross-legged in her temple with a stern face and almost murderous glean in her eyes.

The old woman was nearly at her last nerve. She was tired of sitting and waiting. A vein throbbed on her forehead in irritation as seconds slowly dragged by into minutes, minutes than lazily changed to hours and so on. She had hardly gotten any sleep the previous night, mostly due to how enraged she was. She had felt a twinge of worry, but she was feeling more furious than anything else at the moment.

After Yusuke and Kuwabara had come back by themselves last night, she knew something had happened to Kurama and

Kira. However, that didn't change the fact that she was mad. Kira hadn't even attempted to contact her via phone or using telepathy.

_Stupid girl._

She looked down at the bottle of potion in her hand that she intended on giving Kira that day, the sooner the better. All second thoughts had been wiped from her mind after sitting on it for a few days. Hopefully, with the supressing of her granddaughter's powers the nightmares would stop. If not, than Kira would be left defenseless until they could concoct another potion to counteract the one she had been given. There were no guarantees.

She heard the sound of hurried footsteps in the corridor outside of the room she was in along with a pair of voices. Genkai got up and stuck her head out of the doorway to see Kira and Kurama walking down the hallway.

Kira's eyes were narrowed as she yammered away loudly, while muttering curses under her breath as Kurama smiled apathetically at her. However, his green eyes were now looking at her with a feeling of endearment.

"I can't believe the engine frosted over!"

"At least it wasn't anything too serious. We're lucky the delay was short."

"Two fricking hours isn't short…"

Genkai closed her hand around the bottle in her palm before stepping out right in front of them with her arms behind her back. "Where the hell were you two?"

Kira stopped in her tracks than quickly ducked behind Kurama before pushing him forward a little. "He can explain."

Genkai arched an eyebrow as she turned her attention from her granddaughter to the fox and gave him an expectant glare. She tapped her foot and frowned. "Well?"

"We were attacked last night and I sustained a minor injury. Then this morning we woke up early enough to catch the first train back here, but there were…ah, technical difficulties." Kurama explained sweatdropping as he felt Kira cling to the back of his jacket in fear of her grandmother's impending wrath. "We were trying to get back as soon as possible, but as I just said, there were some obstacles." He pressed, reiterating the fact that they didn't mean to come back almost twelve hours after they said they would.

Kira closed her eyes shut tightly waiting for Genkai to go off at them any second. Seconds ticked by in silence and she mustered up the courage to open an eye to see her grandmother silently fuming in front of them, but trying to restrain from yelling at them.

"Well, it wasn't your fault so nothing could be done about it."

Kira blinked her eyes in disbelief. _What? _Was she hearing things correctly? She edged around Kurama, but still hung onto him like he was her life support just in case it was all some insane delusion she was having.

"Don't give me that look, Kira. Even I understand that there are situations outside of human control." Genkai scolded with a grimace. "But I'm pissed that you didn't even try to contact me at all. What were you thinking? Were you even thinking? Sometimes I wonder if you even have the presence of mind to use your power when you need to."

Kira was about to speak, but she instantly clamped her mouth shut. Why hadn't she thought of contacting Genkai last night? There was a reason why that didn't even cross her mind and he was standing closely next to her. She glanced at Kurama from the corners of her eyes shyly as a light red blush tinted her cheeks.

He half-smiled in return when he noticed that Kira was looking at him.

Genkai's eyes went back and forth intently between the two teenagers in front of her. "You were too busy fraternizing with your boyfriend to inform me, is that it?"

Kira's cheeks flushed tomato red. "It was nothing like that!" She cried thrashing her arms around frantically. "We were…we were just…sleeping together…"

"YOU WHAT?" Genkai exploded. "WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING? YOU'RE BOTH TOO YOUNG TO-"

"No, no!" Kira waved her hands up defensively in front of herself. "It was nothing like that-"

Genkai's screams of anger drowned out Kira's meek voice.

"I thought you two knew better! I can't believe you two! Especially you!" She pointed an accusing finger at Kurama. "I always held you in high regard, but you crossed the line here. You of all people should've known better. I thought you were more responsible than that. How could you take advantage of an innocent girl?"

Kurama gulped, for he was truly at a loss for words in this catastrophic misunderstanding. How could Genkai jump to such a wild conclusion? He would never do that. Both he and Kira weren't ready for such a thing like that and probably wouldn't be ready for a long time. He could hardly wrap his mind around the concept that Genkai was incriminating him of sleeping with her granddaughter.

"I phrased that badly, didn't I?" Kira said hanging her head and hunching her shoulders forward.

"It was quite tactless, honestly." He replied quietly, still bogged in his own thoughts. His relationship with Kira was entirely innocent! He felt the heat rise to his cheeks that were burning with abashment from the mere thought of the word 'sex'.

"I'M DISSAPOINTED IN BOTH OF YOU! WHAT MADE YOU THINK-"

"WE DIDN'T HAVE SEX!" Kira yelled while balling her fists. "You completely misinterpreted what I said." Her face was bright red from the embarrassment and her eyebrows were slanted diagonally in a 'V'. She elbowed Kurama's side gently. "Right?"

"R-right." Kurama said automatically, still not fully recovered from Genkai's presumption.

It took the old psychic a few minutes to cool down upon hearing what Kira said. "Good, for a second I thought that I might have to make a kitsune rug." Genkai then regained her composure and resumed her air of authority. She eyed Kurama with disdain still. "Now, could you please excuse us. I need to have a talk with my granddaughter particularly about how she says things."

Kurama was more than happy to oblige, but he couldn't help to wonder what Genkai wanted to talk to Kira about in private. He gave Kira a small grin before turning on his heel to leave and find out what Yusuke and Kuwabara were up to.

"Haha, you thought we 'did it'." Kira teased, trying hard not to giggle.

Genkai glowered at her. "Can you blame me for overreacting? Sex is the last thing I want you thinking about. Also, I don't want you to make the same mistake I…" she trailed off upon seeing Kira's hurt expression. "What now?"

"It wasn't a mistake!" Kira huffed. "If you and him hadn't done it then I wouldn't be here!"

Genkai rolled her eyes. "I just don't want that idea to poke holes in your head until your older. Being a pregnant teenager isn't a walk in the park."

"Yeah, yeah." Kira said. "Just so you know, sex is the last thing on my mind. Usually I have thoughts about fairies, pretty colors, ballerinas and cuddly woodland creatures wafting around in my brain."

"Smart ass."

"Just be happy I take after you in some aspects." Kira mused, standing up straight. "So, what's our little conversation about? I doubt when you woke up this morning you initially planned on giving me 'the talk'."

"You're pushing it now." Genkai growled as she brought her hand out from behind her back to show Kira the bottle. "I want you to take this. It will stop those nightmares you've been having." She held the bottle up between her thumb and index finger, indicating that she wanted Kira to take it from her.

Kira reluctantly took it and popped off the cork on the top. An extremely foul stench filled her nostrils immediately, making her reflexively gag. She covered her nose with her free hand. "This smells worse than shit. Are you trying to poison me Grams?"

THUD!

"Itai!" Kira rubbed the spot on her head where Genkai had hit her. "That hurt!" She spat angrily.

"Just drink the potion or I promise you that your training will be a thousand times harder! Do you want your nightmares to go away or not?"

Kira studied the purple liquid warily. "Will it really?" That would be marvelous for her. Stopping the nightmares would get Kokuei out of her head for a while so she could concentrate on her relationship with Kurama.

"Koenma insured me of that." _Hopefully it will, but it will definitely prevent you from using your psychic powers until you take a reversal potion. _Genkai saw the golden seal on Kira's hand that restricted the girl's demonic powers. After this, there was no going back. Kira was going to be helpless like a normal human being. However, Kira didn't need to know that just yet.

"If you say so," she braced herself and plugged her nose before downing the potion with three huge swallows. The potion was slimly and surprising hot, like fire. When she finished she fought back the urge to vomit. The potion itself tasted better than it had smelled, but it felt like her insides were being scorched. It wasn't that painful, but it was a very unpleasant feeling to have. She tried her best to keep the potion from coming back up, which only nauseated her even more. Kira handed the cylindrical glass back to Genkai. "Here. I need to lay down or else I'm going to be sick."

…

Koenma felt like throwing a fit when he realizes how much paperwork had been stacked up on his desk, almost reaching the ceiling of his office. The towers of paper swayed back and forth as if threatening to fall any second. He instantly felt regretful for spacing out for so long, but could you blame him? Who would actually want to spend all their time doing mountains and mountains of paperwork every day of their life?

Work, work, work, work, work, and more work. It sucked. Why did he have to have such a crappy job?

He chewed on his pacifier apprehensively, wondering where to start on the massive piles of paper in front of him. One false move or grabbing the wrong piece by mistake could make it all fall over making a huge mess. Therefore creating even more work for him. He hated cleaning and he wasn't in the mood to spend another entire day cleaning up after another fiasco.

Carefully, he extended his hand forward; beads of sweat dripping from his brow as his eyes narrowed in concentration.

_Slowly, cautiously. You can do this…just don't make any sudden movements. Almost there…_

His fingers tips had all, but brushed the edge of a piece of paper when the door to his office burst open, sending a violent gust of wind in his direction, knocking the towers of paper over and scattering them around the room.

Koenma's hand cringed as he eyes the sudden intruder with hostility. "OGRE!" He yelled in annoyance as the last piece of paper slowly fluttered to the floor.

The blue ogre winced and apologized profusely as he waved an envelope he held in his hand, "I'm sorry Koenma-sama. I didn't mean to-"

"Of course you didn't mean to!" Koenma stood in his chair and glared venomously at the poor blue ogre who had just entered the room. "You've better have a good reason or you're the one who's cleaning this up!"

The ogre sulked over to Koenma and showed him the envelope. "This arrived in the mail today for you, sir."

Koenma snatched it from his hands then in his fury ripped it open before turning over and shaking it. One small half sheet of paper flew out that he caught in his other. His eyes squinted as he brought it close to his eyes, which began to quickly read the text.

His bottom jaw unhinged a little, his mouth gaped open slightly as what was written on the letter registered in his head.

_Dear Koenma-sama,_

_ I don't know if you know this yet, but I would like to inform you that my idiotic brother, Takuto, has been missing for a few days. I've gone to look for him numerous times, but I haven't even picked up any clues of his whereabouts. My parents and I are really starting to worry. My dad says if anything's happened to him he's going to "come up to Reikai and bash your puny little baby face in then shove your pacifier up your ass". Pleasant, isn't he?_

_Yours truly,_

_Suzume_

The color drained from his face as he slid back into his chair. He felt like he was about to cry again. Why hadn't anyone else reported Takuto's absence to him? How could he have not noticed this? He was going to be a dead man; there was no way around it.

**XXXXXX**

I listened to 'Milkshake' by Goodnight Nurse while I wrote this. OwO Music inspires my insanity.

Dc-chan: Haha. Nobody likes Takuto. XD

Your reviews made me feel millions and millions times better! MUCHO x3 LOVE!

Now some review responses for you inquisitive lot:

Dark Angel Millenia: YAY! You've calmed my nerves down. I was worried some one might say, "Hey! What happened to so-and-so? Or what about this-and-that? Or why did you…" I think you get the point. Sometimes however, I do wonder what some readers imagine about some of those weird loose ends.

Celedeen Tachibana: (I was wondering when some one was gonna mention that…) Kira's demonic cat, Koneko, has become an outdoor cat basically. I'll plan on giving her a little cameo if you want. I kinda miss the furry little fuzz ball myself. Maybe it'll have something to do with Kuwabara because he likes cats and I feel guilty about him, Yusuke, and Hiei not having bigger roles.

FirstFaith: Yeah…I know there are quite a bit of grammar mistakes and such. I've always meant to fix them, but I'm kinda lazy…some are more apparent than others while the rest you'll only find if you pay really close attention. My computer had a virus around September-October so I lost all the previous chapters so that's why I haven't really done anything about it, but I'm sure one day I will when I have nothing better to do. Ehehe. P: I'm glad you like my weird sense of humor.

Shade Spirit: I hope the music gods don't strike me down. That would be TERRIBLE, but I think I make up for it with my undying passion for local and undiscovered bands.

ThoughtSpinner: Valentine's is a HORRIBLE 'holiday', if it can even by called such a thing. I swear Hallmark invented it. V-Day is only good for getting free chocolate and candy from friends, not much else. My Algebra 2 teacher sucks too…he's a terrible teacher. Hyperbolas make me cry. TToTT

Kuramas Luver: It's not over, still got quite a few chapters left. My AIM is penguinfangz13 by the way. ; I'm hardly ever on though.

And now an enormous thank you for everyone who reviewed! If I could, I'd give everyone chocolate or candy or maybe even cookies! Whichever you prefer!

NEXT CHAPTER: Stranger Than Fiction

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan :D


	28. Stranger Than Fiction

**HOLY FRICKING MAN BOOBS! I updated! Joy!**

Yes, the hiatus is officially over. Now let's carry on like I haven't neglected this fic for a couple of months. I'm going to really push to finish this fic THIS SUMMER so be on the look out for many, many updates.

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho is property of Yoshihiro Togashi. All OCs are mine.

**DEDICATION**: This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 28 of Define 'Normal'

Stranger Than Fiction

The thin sliver of the crescent moon hung in the sky over thousands of treetops. The night would've been all but silent and peaceful if it was not for the flurry of voices coming from beneath a small patch of trees.

"That pipsqueak is going to pay for the misery she bestowed on me!" Hosaki said while stomping her foot temperamentally on the ground in the middle of the thick forest outside Genkai's temple. Time had not been good to Hosaki in the past few months. She had many sleepless nights, which caused dark bags under her once vivid eyes and she had gotten quite pale from a lack of eating. However, no one ever dared to point these changes in appearance out to the emotionally unstable demoness for fear of being incinerated on the spot.

A young looking girl with short white hair and pointed ears yawned as she observed her companion as she sat on a log a few feet away. "So, is this a personal vendetta or something against that Kira girl?"

Hosaki's nostrils flared at the sound of that name. "Don't you mention that wench in front of me, Shirogane!"

_It is personal_;Shirogane mused in the back of her mind. _Very personal, I've never seen someone get so under her skin like this before._ She swung her legs back and forth as she sat, watching the fire demoness with interest.

Hosaki flung herself against a tree and began sobbing. "She ruined everything and took him away from me. I hate her! I should burn her to a crisp!" She raised her right hand and jetted from it a pillar of fire that instantly burned the nearest tree into a pile of ash within seconds. She then turned her head to Shirogane with narrowed eyes that were red from crying. "Will you help me?"

The white haired demon mulled it over thoughtfully in her head before a devious smile came across her light blue lips. "Of course I will. After all, we're family. By dawn…serious chaos will ensue at the temple, I promise you that." She chuckled darkly as she slowly faded into darkness, leaving Hosaki alone in the woods.

* * *

"Eh? It's morning already?" Kira blinked then shielded her eyes as the sun's rays flooded into her room. She sat up and ran her hands down her face. Time for another training day from hell. _Just three more days, you can this Kira. _She encouraged herself as she changed from her sleep clothes to navy colored athletic shorts and a plain white shirt, which actually wasn't much different from the clothes she had been sleeping in.

Kira pulled her hair back into a ponytail before leaving her room and dragged her feet down the hallway, her eyes only half-open as her arms hung limply at her sides.

As she turned a corner she accidentally bumped into Kurama, who appeared to be in a less than joyful mood to see her.

"Good morning." Kira greeted him cheerfully, disregarding the dark look in his eyes. She leaned forward to hug him, but he moved out of the way causing her to fall on the hard wooden floor.

"Tch. Don't touch me." He growled vehemently as he walked away.

Kira pushed herself up with her hands and stared at his retreating back with a vein throbbing on her forehead. "What's his problem?" She frowned in annoyance, but she soon found her eyes traveling lower and lower down his backside and eventually a bright blush spread across her face. "Why am I suddenly staring at his butt?"

"I believe the proper terms for what you just said are gluteus maximus and gluteus medius." An astute voice said in an informative manner.

Kira looked up to see Kuwabara standing next to her. Somehow his posture seemed different to her, like he was carrying himself in a much more contemptuous manner with his shoulders back and his feet slightly apart from each other.

She raised an eyebrow as she hesitantly stood up. "You feeling okay, Kuwabara?" She then noticed that he was wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses that was constantly slipping down the bridge of his nose, which caused him to push it back up with his index finger.

"I feel perfectly fine. Why do you ask?"

Kira sweatdropped and diverted her gaze elsewhere. "Never mind…I think I'm going to go have some breakfast. Hopefully Yukina made us another wonderful meal, ne?"

"I shall join you. Breakfast is the vital meal that provides one energy that will sustain them throughout the morning."

Kira kept her mouth shut on the way to the kitchen in fear that Kuwabara might say something else that would be extremely out of character.

When they arrived, they found the kitchen deserted except for a kettle of tea that was whistling loudly. Kira went over to the oven and turned off the flame beneath it.

"Where's Yukina?" She asked as she bit her bottom lip. "It isn't like her to leave a kettle like that."

Kuwabara shrugged as he examined the room. "It doesn't seem like anything in here has been touched except for that."

"Which makes this even more unusual…" Kira trailed off as she saw a shadow move behind Kuwabara. She squinted and tried to make out the form and saw something in its hand that was reflecting light off of its tip. Kira's eyes widened in realization. "Kuwabara, move!" She shoved him out of the way just in time as a rage infested Yukina lunged at him with a sharp cutting knife.

Kuwabara adjusted his glasses. "Now this is peculiar."

_What the hell is going on? _Kira thought as she dodged another violent jab from the ice maiden.

Yukina cornered Kira while holding the handle of the knife in both hands. Kira felt beads of perspiration drip down her neck. She couldn't fight Yukina especially when no one was acting like themselves this morning. She evaded another attack and scrambled by Yukina.

"What should we do?" Kira frantically asked Kuwabara in a panicked tone. "I'm not gonna beat her up!"

"We should find a method to restrain her then."

"Yeah, how?" Kira questioned while backing up against the wall with Kuwabara as Yukina stepped forward menacingly.

Kuwabara scratched his chin for a moment before a light bulb went off in his head. "I'll be right back." He dashed out of the room just as Yukina tried to stab Kira once more, but she missed again and this time the knife got stuck in the wall.

The ice maiden pulled at the handle furiously until it finally came out. She then whirled around to face Kira, her aqua colored bangs casting a shadow over her red eyes.

Kira took a few steps backwards until she bumped into the stove where the kettle was sitting. _What do I do now? I can't just leave and let her attack the others._ Kira racked her brain for a solution that wouldn't involve fighting.

However, fortunately for her and unfortunately for the ice maiden, Kurama entered the room and struck Yukina in the back of her head with the side of his hand, knocking her out. Though, it wasn't exactly the type of solution Kira had been hoping for.

Kira gaped dumbly for a few seconds as her eyes darted back and forth from Kurama and the unconscious girl in front of her. "You…hit…her…"

"You two were causing a commotion while I was trying to sleep." He snapped at her.

She tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong with you? What's wrong with everyone this morning?"

"Beats me, but maybe I should knock you out too because you're acting so vexatious." Kurama replied icily with a glare in her direction.

Kira gulped and held her hands up in front of her in defense. "Please don't. I'm rather fond of being conscious." She tried to avoid his leer, but for some reason she couldn't help noting how broad his shoulders were. _GAH! What am I thinking? Why am I suddenly checking him out? _Kira began pulling at her own hair in irritation. Was she going completely wacko just like everyone else?

Kuwabara returned with a rope in his hand. "We can tie her up with this…" he trailed off when he saw Yukina's crumpled body on the floor.

Kira could've sworn she saw a flicker of concern flash across his calm face.

The next minute though, any hope she had that Kuwabara might come to his senses flew out the window as he began binding her with the rope while a reluctant Kurama helped him.

"Well, that takes care of that." Kuwabara said as he finished tying the knot. "This should hold her when she comes to."

"This is really too much…" Kira said as rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm gonna go find Yusuke, Hiei, and Grams. Maybe one of them is normal today."

Just as she was about to exit the kitchen Kurama grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Kira looked over her shoulder at him and they locked eyes. She saw something in his emerald eyes stir as his grip on her slowly loosened. Was it recognition? Compassion? He was now staring at her differently at her than he had been minutes before. She felt her heart flutter in anticipation.

"Kira…" he started, his voice no longer carrying any grisly or malicious undertones.

She gave him an innocent look. "What, Kurama?"

Abruptly, he furrowed his brows and grimaced menacingly at her as he quickly let go of her. "You should leave, your voice irks me."

Kira felt heat rise to her face. "Oh yeah? Well, I've seen guys with a better gluteus maximus and gluteus medius than you'll ever have!" She shouted at him before stomping off with gritted teeth and clenched fists.

She folded her arms across her chest, making creases in her shirt. She couldn't believe how much of a jerk he was acting like towards her. If he thought she was ever going to hug him again after this he was sorely mistaken. Her feelings were a bit hurt, but she reminded herself that everyone was acting abnormal and Kurama was no exception to this so maybe it wasn't entirely his fault.

As she past a bedroom she noticed from the corners of her eyes that the door was slightly ajar and it sounded like someone was whimpering inside.

Curiously and cautiously, she opened the door and poked her head inside. "Grams? Yusuke?" She then spotted in the corner of the room was a huddled mass of quivering blankets that was sniffling quietly. She walked over and tapped on the person's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

No one words could describe the shock and bizarre wonderment that Kira felt jolt through her body when the sobbing person turned around to face her; it was Hiei! Huge warm globules of salty tears were streaming down his cheeks and the tip of his nose was pink from crying.

_What the heck?_

Kira was almost too stunned to speak, but she eventually found her voice. "What's up, Hiei?"

He blew his nose into the blanket loudly before answering. "Kurama said something horrible to me and he wouldn't apologize even after Yusuke asked him too."

"Well, that's a shocker." Kira said sarcastically. "Do you know where Yusuke went?"

Hiei shook his head. "No. I really wish he hadn't left though, I was getting scared all by myself."

Kira twitched. "This is just too weird…"

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing." Kira replied hastily. "Do you want to come with me and help me look for other people?"

The scared fire apparition nodded his head nervously as he stood up with the blanket still wrapped around his body and he instantly latched on to the back of Kira's shirt with a trembling hand.

Kira led him out of the room anxiously. She couldn't but feel like a babysitter trying to help a little kid get over his fear of the dark. The kid being Hiei made it seem ever more so out of place.

"Let's go, Hiei." She urged quietly as he aversely followed her into the hallway. "Keep a look out for Kurama, though. He might want to hurt us still."

Hiei's face turned a ghostly white at the thought of being tortured or stabbed crossed his mind. He winced. "R-really?" He choked out as he tightened his hold on the hem of Kira's shirt

"Just be on your toes, okay?" She tried to reassure him kindly.

Together, the edged discreetly down the hallway and made sure that the floorboards wouldn't crack beneath their bare feet in fear of alerting those with sharp hearing ears, namely Kurama. At each turn Kira would peer carefully around it before beckoning Hiei to come with her.

"Oh my gosh! There you two are!" A troubled, but upbeat voice exclaimed behind them.

Kira jumped a little and Hiei clung helplessly to Kira fretfully before turning around to see Yusuke there with wide eyes and his hair not slicked back like usual.

"I was worried that Kurama might've found you two! He already beat up Kuwabara." He clapped his hands together. "Poor guy didn't have a prayer against-"

Kira slapped her hand over Yusuke's mouth and hissed venomously into his ear. "Idiot! Do you want him to hear us?"

Hiei tapped Kira's elbow with a fearful look on his face. "Too late for that…"

"Eh?" Kira blinked and focused her eyes down the hallway in the direction Hiei was pointing as he hid behind her.

About thirty feet away from them Kurama stood there in a tense position while scowling darkly as his hand fingered his Rose Whip, which had blood dripping from its thorns. His eyebrows were knitted together at a sharp angle making a 'V' above his dark green eyes. His glare was threatening enough to make Kira's legs shake, Hiei squeak pathetically, and Yusuke's teeth chatter. Kira knew he could be intimidating, she had heard stories about Youko, but this was Kurama and for some reason this look of cruelty seemed so natural for him to possess.

"Anyone get any good ideas?" Yusuke asked.

"I got one for you," Kira said. "RUN!"

With that, the three of them took off sprinting down the corridor as fast as they could, although Kira actually had to drag Hiei along for the most part because he was too preoccupied wailing his head off to run on his own.

"We should find a place to hide." Yusuke suggested while panting heavily when they came to a stop outside Kira's bedroom.

Kira furrowed her brows in concentration. "I'm sure Grams will know how to deal with this. We first need to focus our attention on stopping Kurama from going on a murdering rampage."

"Why don't you fight him?" Hiei said as he gathered his blanket closer to his body for condolence.

"Are you crazy? I'm not fighting him." Kira cried out indignantly at him before remembering she needed to keep her voice low. "We can't just go around beating each other up."

Hiei and Yusuke exchanged glances. _She's just saying that because he's her boyfriend_, the two of them thought in unison in aggravation.

"You two stay put while I go find my Grams, okay?" Kira ordered in a hostile tone.

"What about us? What if he finds us?" Hiei said softly.

"Just stay in my room and keep your traps shut. Got it?"

They both nodded as Kira ushered them into her room.

"Oh, and Yusuke." Kira said before closing the door.

"Yeah?"

"Touch any of my underwear and I'll shove my hand down your throat and rip out your spine."

"Why would I want to do that anyway?" Yusuke said with raised eyebrows.

Kira rolled her eyes as she gently pushed the door close.

She scanned the surrounding area and cracked her knuckles. "Here I go."

She tiptoed around the temple, looking into all the rooms she came across while occasionally holding her breathe just in case Kurama might hear her heavy breathing. It was exceptionally hard to not scream curse words at the top of her lungs when she inadvertently stubbed her tow in a doorframe.

Kira then resorted to hoping around on one foot as daintily as she could because her big toe now felt like someone had rammed a nail right through the center of it.

She then decided to head to Genkai's room after checking all possible places the old psychic could be. On her way there she couldn't help, but vaguely wonder where had Kurama gone. He hadn't exactly pursued them earlier when they were running away nor did it appear he even inside the temple still. Kira chewed on the inside of her check as she contemplated that. It seemed like he had just vanished into thin air.

When she reached Genkai's room after a few minutes of monotonously hoping up and down on one foot, she saw a note taped to the door written in messy handwriting on a small white piece of paper. Kira took it off the door and held it close to her eyes as she read it with a perplexed expression.

_Everyone,_

_ I've gone this morning to take care of some personal business. Don't expect me back until the afternoon._

_-Genkai_

_P.S. DON'T ANY OF YOU DARE THINK THAT THIS MEANS YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRAIN TODAY!_

Kira crumpled the note in her fist. Genkai had unknowingly picked the worst time she could to go off and 'take care of some personal business', as it was so aptly put in the note.

She leaned her back against the wall opposite the door and sunk down to the ground, sprawling her legs out in front of herself.

_Now what?_

The only logical plan had backfired and now she was left to her own devices. She doubted scaredy-cat Hiei or goody-to-shoes Yusuke would be much help. Kuwabara and Yukina were out for the count too. Kira grumbled to herself, she hated being alone like this.

It was then that a peculiar smell filled her nose. "Fire?"

She glanced up to see a massive fireball coming her way. Kira rolled out of the way, but not fast enough as the left side of her arm got brushed by the flame and seared some of her skin painfully. She held her arm gingerly as another fireball flew past her and burned a hole into the wall where she had just been sitting.

"That arm of yours looks to be in poor shape."

Kira knew instantly from the sound of that voice who she was up against.

"Hosaki." Kira snarled as the fire demoness appeared before her. "I should've known that only you would plan something this messed up. Have you ever considered running for the worst villain of the century?"

"I dare you to say that again you little brat!"

"I've read about comic book villains with better motives for being evil! You're just throwing a fit over a lost cause! Get over yourself!"

Hosaki laughed into her hand coyly much to Kira's surprise. "Is that all? I daresay you're losing your touch. Besides, I already have what I came here for. I just wanted to get rid of the trash."

"What do you mean?" Kira asked in bewilderment.

"I have Kurama and believe me little girl when I say that he's not going to save you this time." Hosaki grinned as the red haired teenager came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "He's mine now."

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: I've done the final planning for this story (yes, that means I did more outlines DwD;) and there will be 37 chapters altogether (Haha, I unintentionally lied when I previously said there would be 35). That means starting from here, there will only be 10 more chapters, otherwise I'd be trying to cram a lot of crap into less chapters. Things may change as I am still toying around with a few ideas, but I have a pretty darn good idea where this is going.

To everyone that reviewed: YOU GET MY UNDYING GRATITUDE AND LOVE!

NEXT CHAPTER: Playing with Fire

WHAAAAA! OVER 18000+ VIEWS! OH YES! I'M FEELING THE LOVE!

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan

P.S. GIMME REVIEWS:B


	29. Playing With Fire

Dc-chan: Another chapter? So soon? You're thinking that this can't be possible, but it is! It is possible! Get over it. Okay…maybe it's not _that_ soon, but I'm trying to be more productive dammit. ..

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho is property of Yoshihiro Togashi. However, all OCs and weird plots belong to me.

Mild angsty-ness too and potential OOC crap ahead in this chapter, this will be your only warning.

**DEDICATION**: This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

XXXXXX

Chapter 29 of Define 'Normal'

Playing With Fire

"He belongs to me." Hosaki said as reached her hand up to stroke the side of Kurama's face with an evil glint in her almond shaped eyes. "Are you jealous?" She eyed Kira with contempt as she continued to flaunt Kurama in front of the girl like some prize-winning trophy.

"You wish." Kira retorted ardently as she sat with her neck and shoulders hunched over.

The fire demoness sniggered. "Stop denying it."

"I hope you can live with yourself knowing that the only reason he likes you now is because you did something to him." Kira said dismissively. "It's not like he actually cares about you."

"And he feels this way about you?" Hosaki barked defensively.

The teenage girl smirked devilishly. "Well, not to brag or anything, but he is my boyfriend now." She almost burst out laughing at Hosaki's flabbergasted expression. "Ohoho, you didn't know that? I guess he forgot to tell you when you were busy brainwashing him or whatever you did." Kira knew how to get under someone's skin and judging by Hosaki's reaction to her comment, she was going a darn good job.

"You're lying!" Hosaki stammered as she tossed her braid over her shoulder.

"Why would I lie about something like that?" Kira shot back.

"To annoy me, that's why!" Hosaki shouted angrily as she broke free from Kurama's embrace to step forward towards Kira. "Why would he go out with you anyway? It's not like you love him the way I do." She clenched her fists as a wall of fire began blazing around her body. Her emotions fed the flames, which were gradually growing bigger and higher with each passing second.

Kira fanned herself with a hand because the heat coming off of Hosaki's flames was making her sweat. Geez, this woman was stupid.

"Of course I don't feel the same way about him as you do. Your emotions for him are twisted and vengeful because he dumped you. Obviously, mine aren't like that." Kira answered sternly. "Do you really think your own so called feelings for him are natural? I wouldn't be surprised if you actually hated him more than you claim to love him now."

Hosaki gave Kira a death glare. "Take that back."

Kira folded her arms across her chest and held her nose up in the air. "No." She huffed.

The fire demoness hurled another fireball at Kira, which the teenager dodged again easily. "Are you even trying to hit me?" Kira scoffed in a taunting manner. "Because either your aim is terrible or you really hate walls."

Hosaki held up one of her hands and a jet of raging flames spewed forth like from a flame-thrower. Kira scrambled to her feet to outrun the flame that burned the wall and floorboards behind her trail, setting them on fire, as she ran to the other side of the hallway. Kira turned around to see that that part of the temple had already turned to ash and paled ghostly white for a moment when the thought what Genkai's reaction to the damages done to her temple would be before converging back to the enraged Hosaki.

Kira brushed some ash off of her shorts before straightening herself upright to face Hosaki. She was just about at the end of her patience for the demoness, in the five minutes that they'd been talking to one another she had tried to barbecue her alive four times already.

"Don't mess with me girl." Hosaki warned.

"Too bad, I dream of it every night." Kira replied facetiously. She then took a fighting stance, readying herself for the next onslaught of fireballs that that remark might bring upon her.

Hosaki arched an eyebrow as a twisted smile tugged at her lips. "I'm not going to fight you." She declared lividly, her bright red eyes flashing. "He is." She beckoned Kurama to step forward and he willingly obliged. "I want you to kill her for me." She cooed at him like he was a cute little puppy.

His eyes darted to where Kira was standing. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she tried to back away however, she only succeeded in bumping her back against the wall in an effort to get away. She could run away, she was almost considering it too, but she didn't want to leave him in Hosaki's clutches.

Kurama reached his hand up into his hair and drew out his Rose Whip. Kira paled as he gave her a glazed look, while Hosaki watched on eagerly. The possibility of being rid of Kira once and for all made Hosaki feel more energized than she had felt in a while after months of slumping in depression.

Usually, Kira would be up for a good fight or a spar with Kurama for training purposes, but this wasn't a training exercise. Kira debated in her mind whether she should actually fight back or not. What if they hurt each other?

However, her meddlesome thoughts caused her to be idle therefore giving Kurama an opportunity for attack. With a flick of his wrist the Rose Whip coiled itself around Kira's body so she couldn't move. Her arms were pinned at her sides and her legs were stuck together. She squirmed helplessly against the whip.

She braced herself for the pain of the thorns that would come once the whip tightened itself around her, but it never came. The thorns merely prickled lightly against her skin as if they intended no harm.

_What the--? I thought Kurama told me his Rose Whip could slice through rocks, but this isn't hurting me at all._ She furrowed her brows until Kurama tugged at his whip, making her feet slid out from under her so she fell to the wooden floor with a loud thud.

_Okay, that was slightly painful…that's gonna hurt like hell tomorrow._

She heard the sounds of his footsteps as he walked over to her. Kira gritted her teeth as he knelt down on one knee next to her and with his back to Hosaki.

"Is she bleeding at all, Kurama?" Hosaki inquired gleefully.

He didn't answer her.

"I can't believe she just stood there like an idiot, maybe she didn't believe you would attack her." Hosaki rambled on.

"Hey, shut up you ugly-" Kira began shouting at the fire demoness before Kurama suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth. She blinked at him in confusion. What was he doing?

"Kira, I need you to pretend you're incapacitated." He pleaded in a hushed voice.

She stared at him for a moment, wondering if this was just another act or the genuine Kurama speaking to her. He slowly took his hand away from her mouth.

"I can't trust you." She whispered back sharply once capable of speaking, keeping her tone low enough so Hosaki wouldn't overhear. Not that the demoness would probably hear anything they were saying anyway because she far too busy gloating a safe distance of thirty feet away.

He gave her a small smile, his lips barely upturned. "Please, just cooperate."

Kira still had her suspicions. After the way he had acted towards her an hour ago, she had some lasting resentment against him at the moment, but his smile gave her some assurance that it was just a ruse. It almost made sense to her, Kurama was smart enough to pick up on something like this and play along until he knew how to resolve it. In this case, it meant that he had to earn Hosaki's trust by 'killing' her. Maybe he did have something up his sleeve, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure that this wasn't another act.

"What are you planning?" She growled at him.

He avoided her gaze. "You're not going to like it and I don't have time to explain."

She glowered fiercely at him, but then sighed heavily. "If this is just another scheme then you don't wanna know what I plan on doing to you."

"This isn't a scheme, it's a plan. Scheming is evil, but planning isn't, remember?" He glanced over his shoulder towards Hosaki cautiously. "Now, stay as still as you can. You're supposed to be dead."

"Right-o." Kira said dropping her voice. Kurama seemed like he was himself, but that didn't change the fact that she was mad as hell at him for what occurred earlier, even if he was only acting. She didn't like knowing whether or not she could put her faith in him. It just didn't sit comfortably with her at all; it was like swallowing something rotten that wouldn't digest in her stomach.

"Is she dead?" Hosaki asked as she stopped twirling around moronically to see Kurama stand up.

"Yes." He said coolly as he went over to her.

"Good, she was such a pest. But now…," she draped her arms around Kurama's neck, "…we can be together." She grinned seductively before kissing him.

Kira tried not to gag as she lay dead as a log on the floor. Normally being such a lively and energetic girl, this was rather difficult for Kira.

She couldn't help it as her spiteful and apprehensive eyes traveled over to where Kurama and Hosaki were. They were currently entangled into one another in a passionate kiss of sorts. _Just imagine he's strangling her or something. _She had trouble convincing herself of that though. Kira desperately wanted to move and get up so she could knock both of them senseless. She calmed her nerves though, Kurama said he had a plan and she had to trust that he wasn't really kissing Hosaki out of feelings for her or anything, but that it was part of his strategy. If this truly was part of the plan, he was right to say that she wouldn't like it. In fact, she loathed it with every fiber of her being.

Kurama then slowly withdrew making Hosaki give him a puzzled expression on her blanch face.

"What's wrong?" She questioned, trying to mask her obvious disapproval at him for ending the kiss all of a sudden.

"Hosaki, I'm tired of you threatening someone I care about." He said darkly.

She stared at him stunned. "You…you…aren't…" She then lurched forward and fell onto her knees as she grabbed at her own throat while a sudden burst of pain erupted in it. She looked up at him while gasping for breath. "What did you do to me?" She fell over onto her back as her body shook violently.

Kira diverted her eyes away, she had a hunch about what Kurama had done to the demoness and as much as should've enjoyed watching Hosaki suffer she knew that she was in for a vicious and terribly bloody end.

Hosaki shrieked and howled in agony as she felt like something was tearing through her insides, ripping apart and piercing through her internal organs. She dug her nails into the wooden floor and gave one last scream before at least a dozen large flowers, each with petals and stems dripping in her own blood, burst through her ribcage. Hosaki lay sprawled on the floor lifeless; her eyes still wide with shock as a trickle of blood seeped out of her mouth.

He lowered his eyelids as he stared at her dead body that lay in a steadily growing pool of crimson colored blood. During their 'kiss' he had planted a seed in her body and then he used his spirit energy to activate it so it would grow inside of her and destroy her. It had finally come to this, after years of regret and torment another beast of burden from Youko's past was now lifted off of him and cast aside.

Kurama exhaled heavily and sat down with his back opposite Kira's.

"I really don't want to look, do I?" Kira asked quietly as she leaned back on him.

He reached out to take her hand into his. Her hand was trembling as he laced his fingers with hers.

He closed his eyes. "Is your arm alright?"

"It stings." Kira said gloomily. "I feel like someone dipped part of my arm in acid."

"Could be worse."

"Yeah, I could have no arm at all. Lucky me, it's only singed."

"Being optimistic is good."

"Being optimistic is what gets people killed, Kurama. I'm being rational." She brought her knees into her chest and bit her bottom lip. Kira berated herself mentally. When did death start getting her all worked up anyway? Maybe it was when Sega had to be killed or maybe it went back to her own experiences of it to somewhere deeper and darker in her psyche.

"You think I overdid it, don't you?" He waited silently for her answer.

"Maybe…possibly…a little…" She fumbled with the words coming out of her mouth. She was split between relief and discontent. Hosaki was annoying, persistent, selfish, and an emotional wreck. However, did that mean that she had to die? Kira knew she couldn't stand the demoness, but she felt sorry for her as well too. Did she deserve to die? Kira understood that Kurama was protective over the people he cared about, but was this a step too far?

He squeezed her hand in an effort to sooth her anxiety. "I know you don't like it when someone's protecting you, but I'd rather I had done it than you." He reflected back to how the incident involving the Guardian of Time had afflicted her. It seemed like so long ago, but it wasn't. She was a crying mess that day and he felt a twinge of guilt by putting her through it again. Now that he had Kira, he didn't want to lose her so easily. He had severed a painful tie to his past; it should be a step forward in their relationship not the other way around. Things always seemed to have a way of getting more complicated.

They both continued to sit silently holding each other's hand as the minutes dragged on, unsure of what to do next. Both of them were lost in their own different trains of thoughts, emotions and uncertainties. But whatever their immediate futures had in store for them next, they both knew that whatever it was they would be going through it together.

* * *

"Stop squirming around." Kurama said as he tried to bandage Kira's burned arm. He was facing a lot of resilience from the fidgety girl, which irritated him some. Did she want her arm to get infected and fall off? Sometimes he really couldn't tell. Perhaps she thought it would make life more interesting to have one arm. 

Kira scrunched her nose and skewed her mouth to the side. "But it hurts a lot." She protested.

Kurama put the roll of medical bandages down before scolding her lightheartedly. "I know it does, but you've been through worse."

"Do you really want me to recall all those traumatizing memories?" She chided him as she poked his cheek with her finger smartly.

"Not all of them were bad." He reasoned as picked the medical tape back up to bandage her arm. Kira winced as he carefully wrapped the bandage around her injury as gently as he could. "Did you have time to check on everyone else to see if thy were back to normal?" He asked her.

She shook her head and grimaced. "I hope Hiei still isn't my room crying, but even worse, if he comes to his senses again he'll threaten to kill me if I recount the way he was acting to anyone." She shuddered. Kira then gave Kurama a cross look. "Did you really have to knock Yukina and Kuwabara out?"

He laughed nervously. "Yes, I'm afraid." This earned him a sharp jab in the arm from Kira.

"You're undeniably evil for faking being a bad guy even if it was only for a few hours." Kira reprimanded. "I didn't know you had it in you to be that…that despicable."

"I'm a good actor, aren't I?" Kurama mused.

"Very convincing." She replied wistfully. "You had me fooled completely. I almost felt like decking you."

"And you didn't because…" He trailed off when the scariest sound in the world overflowed into the room they were occupying.

"WHY IS THERE A HOLE IN MY WALL AND WHY IS PART OF MY TEMPLE BURNT DOWN?" A raspy voice yelled furiously.

A long silence fell over the two teenagers as the listened to Genkai's rampaging footsteps door the hallway.

"Forget Hiei." Kira muttered as she flopped down on her back in the middle of the floor with her arms and legs spread out. "I'm more scared if Genkai gets to me first."

XXXXXX

I listened to _Evolution _by Ayumi Hamasaki while writing this. It's a nifty song.

Dc-chan: What? Were you expecting for Kira and Hosaki to actually fight each other this time? You know they have too much fun hurling insults at one another to get down to hand-to-hand combat. XD Some things never change…-rolls eyes-

Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I'm happy that many of you are still loyal readers especially after that hideously long hiatus and I gained many new readers too!

You get extra kudos if you find the _Rock My World _reference in this chapter. Hint: It has to do with something Kira said to Kurama when they were kids.

NEXT CHAPTER: Blood Isn't Always Thicker Than Water

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan –a very enthused author-

P.S. The reason why Kira and Kurama weren't affected like the others will kinda be explained in a later chapter.

P.P.S. I like reviews. :3


	30. Blood Isn’t Always Thicker Than Water

Dc-chan: I kinda went a little crazy while writing this, hence it's a monster of a chapter. I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I was going to split this chapter in two, but I decided to hell with that. You better like it.

EGAD! This is now officially the longest chapter in this story, over 7000 words! I always knew I was insane. DwD;; I was so happy that I finished this chapter I posted it hot off the press, but I'll go back later and fix any mistakes I catch.

Disclaimer: D':

**DEDICATION: **This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

XXXXXX

Chapter 30 of Define 'Normal'

Blood Isn't Always Thicker Than Water

"FREEDOM!" Kira declared after dropping her bags on the ground as she entered her home. She spread her arms out high above her head. "At last, my days of suffering are over!"

Kurama gave her skeptical look. "You mean until the next time you have to go to Genkai's to train."

She lowered her arms and pouted sourly at him. "Don't rain on my parade." She wagged a finger at him. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that and continue to enjoy my momentary happiness."

Their two weeks of hellish training at Genkai's temple was officially over and Kira could hardly contain her enthusiasm. However, despite this cloud having a silver lining, there were still a few problems hanging overhead. Once Genkai had returned from her 'personal business' in the afternoon on the day of the Hosaki incident, Kurama and Kira had taken the initiative to tell her everything that had transpired great detail. Genkai had listened carefully, occasionally grunting in response to something they had said. They then went to check on their friends to see if they were still acting strange and to their surprise, they were. They found Hiei curled up in a ball crying while Yusuke tried to comfort him; Yukina was conscious and viciously struggling against the ropes that bound her in place and Kuwabara had his nose buried in an advanced physics book.

Kurama cupped his chin in his hand thoughtfully. As strange as everyone's personalities shift were, there was something settle that he had began to notice over the past few days, which was the effects of whatever happened to them were slowly wearing off. They were gradually returning to normalcy, but they still were quirky nonetheless. It was also during his astute observations of everyone's behavior he also saw that the moon had began to wane and was now a thin fingernail sliver hanging in the sky. The new moon was approaching. Perhaps the phases of the moon had something to do with it? He could only guess.

"Kira," he began as he watched her twirl around in the entrance hall gleefully, "you've noticed too, haven't you?"

She stopped mid-twirl and cocked her head to one side at him. "What?"

He ran a hand over his face. Of course she hadn't seen it yet, she was too elated with being back from Genkai's to notice. "Everyone's reverting back to normal, albeit a bit languidly."

Kira clicked her tongue before nodding. "Yeah, I see what you mean. They have been acting a lot more themselves, but they're still…" she trailed off with a shrug.

Kurama leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest and his eyebrows slanted above his green eyes.

"Care to share what you're thinking about?" She piped up, she knew what that look meant from her past experiences with him; he was concentrating intently on something.

"It's just a theory," he started raising his head to look at her, "but for reason I think that it has to do with the phases of the moon."

Kira raised an eyebrow at him before holding her sides as she burst out laughing.

"I'm sure there are other ways you could express your opinion of my theory besides laughing at it." Kurama said while feeling a bit upset at Kira's lack of tact. It was times like these he wished she could handle herself like a grown up.

She immediately straightened up although her cheeks were still bright red from amusement. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized as she came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I just thought it was rather…erm…"

"Stupid?" He supplied for her.

"That's a little too harsh, I was thinking more along the lines of farfetched." She hugged his arm and rested her head against his shoulder. "I didn't mean to laugh like that. I just have trouble controlling my impulses."

Kurama sighed and half-closed his eyes. "Don't worry about it."

Kira stifled a yawn and suddenly began feeling drowsy; she almost fell asleep standing up and would've fallen over if Kurama hadn't caught her. All those intense days of training and little sleep had finally caught up to her.

"We need to rest. After all that training you must be exhausted." He noted lightly as he helped her stand back up. He kept his hands at her waist to support her as he helped her up a flight of stairs to her bedroom. "Are you going to be alright?" He asked as he watched her flop down on her bed and lay down on her stomach.

"Yeah…" she replied lazily as her eyelids felt like they were getting heavier every second. She snuggled in closer against her comforter; its warmth seemed so inviting to her tired body. It only took a few more seconds of blissfully lying in her own bed for the first time in two weeks before she fell soundly asleep.

Kurama sat down on the bed next to her with a small smile. He leaned forward carefully and hesitated before gently pushing aside her bangs before he gingerly kissed her on the crown of her forehead. He lingered for a few minutes after withdrawing and watched her sleep.

It was hard for him to imagine at this point what would have happened if Kira had never come back to Japan and what would've become of him. He'd have probably gone about his usual life taking care of his mother, his stepbrother and stepfather then gone to an excellent college before getting a lucrative job somewhere. That had been the original plan, but now those old priorities were shaken. He had always had a burning desire to protect his family and friends and Kira was part of that mix. He wanted a future with her in it, he was sure of that more than ever now as he watched her slumber. However, he knew it would be a long time before she was ready to hear those words.

* * *

"Is she awake?" An energetic voice asked loudly. 

"Haha! Look, she's drooling!"

Kira felt someone some one poke her side and instantly bolted up -after wiping the drool off from the corner of her mouth- and grabbed whoever it was by the collar of his shirt. Her eyes were crusty from sleep and her hair was a mess as she eyed the perpetrator menacingly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She was holding onto an adolescent boy with short and spiky dark brown hair who seemed surprised by her aggressive response. "And why are you in my room?"

"Hey, let him go!"

Kira turned her head and her eyes widened in disbelief. "There's two of you?" She looked back and forth between the boy she had grabbed and the identical one beside her bed. _Twins? Identical twins?_

The boy struggled out of her grasp to no avail. "How strong are you?" He asked as he continued to squirm. He puffed out his cheeks as if he had two jawbreakers in his mouth.

"Stronger than you." She grunted as she got out of bed and put the other boy in a headlock with her free arm. "Now, I'm going to ask this again nicely, why are you in my room?" This was the last thing she wanted; it was the last thing she needed. Who on earth wanted to be woken up by two adolescent pipsqueaks? Sure, they were far more efficient than her alarm clock, but at least her alarm clock didn't try to fight back whenever she clobbered the snooze button with an open palm each morning.

Neither of them answered as they tried to break free, but Kira easily kept overpowering them and dragged them out of her room then down the stairs to the kitchen. She saw her mother busily putting groceries away in the refrigerator with her back to her daughter as she hummed pleasantly.

Kira cleared her throat loudly to get the oblivious woman's attention.

Rika swiveled her head around with raised eyebrows. "What is it Ki-what do you think you're doing? Let them go this instant!" Her mother's tone was sharp so Kira decided it was best to obey and released them warily. "Kira, you don't manhandle people like that. Especially young children." She pursed her lips together as she continued to scold her daughter. "You don't just grab people like-"

"Save the lecture." Kira interrupted dully. She spied the two boys trying to scramble away, but she quickly tripped them to prevent their escape. They weren't going to get away that easily.

"Kira!" Her mother warned.

The teenage girl shrugged nonchalantly. "What?" Did her mother actually think that she would let them get away from her without some form of punishment for their heinous crime of waking her up when she was still feeling fatigued? She rubbed her eyes to get the gunk out of them before folding her arms stubbornly across her chest.

"That's no way to treat your future stepbrothers." Rika slammed the door to the refrigerator close.

"S-s-stepbrothers?" Kira nearly choked on the words as she looked down at the two identical boys on the floor grimacing up at her. She pointed at them wildly. "These things! I'm going to be part of a family with rapid little children. What if they're contagious?"

"We're not little. We're twelve-years-old." They shot back in unison.

Kira ignored them. "And they're here because…"

"You're overreacting." Her mother said icily.

"Am I?" Kira fired back.

"I want the three of you to spend some time together. After all, you will be living with them soon so it would be better to get

to know one another sooner rather than later." Rika stated matter-of-factly as she brushed some stray strands of hair out of her face with her hand.

Kira put her hands on the sides of her head and stared at her mother like she was mad. "I just got back from Grams' place yesterday! Don't I get a break? And where will you be while this bonding takes place, huh? I suppose you're just going to leave me here with them and make me babysit the twerps."

"Not the words I would've put it in, but that's the gist of it. Besides, you used to babysit a lot, remember?" She smiled as she gauged her daughter's reaction as it went from shock to outrage. "And for future reference their names are Yasuo and Nao, not twerps."

"So? That doesn't change the fact that I'm going to give them some horribly demeaning nickname."

Rika rolled her eyes. Why did her daughter have to be so difficult? She was so much like her father, headstrong and set in her ways, but that was also the problem. She sighed as she checked her wristwatch for the time. "I'm running late for work so I don't have time for this, Kira." She picked up her purse off the kitchen counter before giving her daughter one final stern look. "Behave yourself," she glanced down at Nao and Yasuo, "and the same goes for you two." She left without another word, leaving Kira and the boys alone in the kitchen.

Kira heard the screech the car made as it pulled out of the driveway before speeding off towards the hospital. She then stared reproachfully at the twins, unsure what to make of them. They appeared harmless enough and they weren't that strong psychically so if either of them gave her any trouble she could easily throw them in a closet then lock him in. How was she supposed to 'bond' with a pair of twelve-year-olds anyways? What did her mother expect her do? Play with them? Entertain them? Tap dance for them? Kira rolled her teeth over her bottom lip because the thought of locking them in the closet had a nice ring to it. However, she would be in a world of trouble if she even attempted to do so.

Kira tapped her foot impatiently against the tiled floor. "So, which one of you is Nao and which one is Yasuo?"

"I'm Nao." One of them said as he indicated to himself before jerking his thumb in the direction of his brother. "He's Yasuo."

She put her hands on her hips and bent down at the waist until she was at eye-level with the twins. "Liar. It's the other way around, isn't it?"

"How did you know?" He asked, clearly startled by her perception.

"Because identical twins trying to throw people off by introducing themselves as the other one is incredibly overused unsurprisingly. You're going to have to do a lot better than that." She went over to the cupboard to get out a bowl and a box of cereal. Kira felt like she hadn't eaten for days as she then got a spoon out from a drawer underneath the cupboard. She poured some into the bowl before putting the box of cereal back.

Yasuo glared at her back. "What are you doing?"

"Making breakfast." She mumbled idly as she got a gallon of milk out of the fridge.

"What about us?"

"Make your own breakfast. Or is that too much of a challenge for you?" She quipped mockingly.

"You're in a bad mood, aren't you?" The other twin, Nao, noted.

Kira picked up her bowl of cereal and began eating it as she leaned her back against the counter behind her. "You could tell?" She said between mouthfuls. "And here I thought no one could notice how evidently annoyed I am. Do you want a prize Captain Obvious?"

Nao and Yasuo exchanged irritated looks. Rika had cautioned them earlier that morning that their future stepsister was a typical sarcastic, loudmouthed teenage girl.

"She's really mean, isn't she?" Nao said to his brother in a low voice with furrowed brows.

"Maybe it's because she doesn't have a boyfriend." Yasuo replied smugly, hoping to bug his soon-to-be stepsister.

Kira spit out her mouthful of cereal and there was a loud clatter as she slammed down her half-finished bowl of cereal in the sink. "For your information I do have a boyfriend!" She informed them vivaciously while her face flushed a light shade of pink. The word 'boyfriend' sometimes came off sounding a little too strong to her when it referred to Kurama even though she called him her boyfriend in front of Hosaki and even flaunted that fact freely in front of her too. Still, she wasn't quite used to it yet.

"He must be delusional if he's dating you then." Yasuo stated coolly before he smirked when he saw Kira's eye twitch.

_I hate little kids. _She rested her fist on top of his head. "Well, you're delusional if you think I'm not going to hurt you. I can make it so no one will hear you scream." Her eyes glinted in a devious manner as she smiled broad enough to show her incisors.

Yasuo moved his head away from out under her fist quickly at the threat of bodily harm. He couldn't tell if she was being serious, but had to admit he was now slightly afraid of her. He could tell Nao was too judging by how his face had paled to a sickly white color. Yasuo had always tried to be the twin who was braver and had more of a backbone, but his future stepsister, Kira, had him shaken now.

Kira sensed their nervousness and figured that she probably went too far with scaring them. Poor kids, they had no idea what they were in for when they stepped into her bedroom to wake her up. She tried to put her hands in her pockets, but she soon realized that she was wearing the same clothes she had been in yesterday. She rubbed the back of her neck, she had been so tired when she got home that she didn't have time to change. Kira was a little repulsed by her own lack of hygiene and decided to go back to her room and change into some clean, less sweaty garments.

She left the twins in the kitchen headed upstairs to her bedroom.

When she got there she closed the door to her room with her foot and disregarded the low whispers she heard coming from the twins in the kitchen.

Kira opened her drawers and tossed a red baggy shirt and a pair of denim jeans onto her bed to change into. She quickly changed out of her old clothes before putting one a foot through one leg of her jeans then the other. She then pulled the jeans up to her waist and buttoned them then put the red shirt on over her head.

It was when she was tying her hair back into a ponytail that she heard a loud crash come from downstairs.

She froze, her body grew tense with each passing second that followed in eerie silence. In her mind two thoughts were racing around: either one of the twins had broken something or something more sinister was down there, like a demon. Maybe she was getting paranoid, but after all her demonic encounters she wasn't going to rule it out.

Kira dashed out of her room and leaped over the banister, not bothering with the task of going down the stairs because it was time consuming, and landed on her feet in the middle of the living room.

She peered haphazardly into the kitchen and saw that there was a smashed plate on the floor. She stepped around the broken pieces of china in bewilderment.

"Nao? Yasuo?" She called, but heard no one in return. Kira scratched her earlobe and sighed. "Yep…demons…yet again. I knew it." _Dammit. Now I hafta go save them or else my mom will kill me. Great job watching them Kira. _She remembered back to a time when she would have had a spaz attack if this had happened when she was new to the whole 'demons exist' concept. Bizarre how in the present time, these kind of events seemed almost normal to her. The only problem now was where to start looking for them.

She didn't particularly care that they were gone, but the moment her mother found out all hell would break lose. Kira was already skating on thin ice with her because she had failed to mention beforehand the two-week scheduled training at Genkai's.

Her eyes scanned the room in hopes of finding some sort of clue to aid her in her mission to avoid being grounded for a good chunk of time. She immediately spotted the clue, or rather, a note that the culprit had intentionally left behind for her to read. On the floor there was an extremely concise and to the point message written in huge bold red letters: _Osamu Park_.

Kira looked down at the letters with disdain. Whoever this demon was, they were pretty cocky to tell her where to met him or her. Kira couldn't wait to take this demon down a peg or two. She had some stored up stress that she needed to discharge and a good old-fashion beat down was certainly the right medicine the doctor ordered for her.

She went over to the front door where her pair of tennis shoes were. She slipped her feet into them before tying up the laces nice and tight.

She stood up and cracked her knuckles . "Just go to the park, beat up the bad guy, and retrieve the twerps before mom gets back so she'll never have to know that they got kidnapped in the first place. What she doesn't know won't enable her to ground me." Kira told herself as she went outside. "You can do this, Kira…since when did I start giving myself pep talks? Great, now I'm talking to myself. Terrific."

Kira walked down the street in the direction of the park as she continued conversing with herself.

"It's not like you're going crazy or anything. You're just stressed out. A lot of thing have occurred the past few weeks and it's perfectly natural if you begin talking to yourself." She flung her arms around a lamppost exuberantly in despair. "Who am I kidding? I'm going out of my mind!"

"I'll say, you look downright pathetic." A dark voice said behind her.

Kira flinched upon recognizing the owner of the voice and turned her head around hesitantly. Sure enough, Hiei was standing there in broad daylight with his black cloak and bandana tied around his forehead, covering his third eye. His wine colored eyes were glaring deadly daggers at her as he stood authoritatively with his feet spread apart.

"How nice to see you, Hiei." Kira gulped as she tried to hide behind the lamppost. "Nice weather, ne?" She was taken aback though because he seemed to be acting like his old self again, which made her think back to Kurama's theory. _Well, it is a New Moon tonight. Or maybe the effects are just wearing off? Either way, here I am all alone with Hiei standing a few feet away from me like he's about to slice my head off. _"So, what brings you out here?" Kira asked politely, wishing desperately that Hiei would stop looking at her like he was about to kill her.

"You know full well." He answered hotly. "I've already threatened Yusuke not to reveal my embarrassing behavior a few days ago."

"And you're going to do the same to me?" Kira presumed worriedly.

His hand hovered near his katana. "Hn. I intend to."

"That's quite fascinating Hiei, but I'm kind of in a hurry." The teenage girl said before noticing Hiei's hand grasping his blade. "I won't tell anyone." She squeaked, knowing that there was nothing more in the world that Hiei would like short of killing her.

"You better not or there will be repercussions." He relaxed and dropped his hand to his side, satisfied that his intimidation method had worked so well. He had anticipated that she would be difficult about it, but it went remarkably smooth, which also raised his curiosity. He arched an eyebrow darkly at her. "What are you up to?"

Kira waved her hands in front of herself franticly as beads of perspiration dripped down the side of her face. "I'm just on my way to the park, that's all. I thought that I shouldn't waste a lovely day like this by sitting on my ass all day in the house." It was a terrible lie, stupid and unimaginative. She didn't care though; she just wanted to get as far away from the fire demon as humanly possible.

Did she take him as an idiot? Apparently. He almost laughed at the absurdity, almost being the keyword here. Did this girl think he couldn't sense when something was array? If so, she was about to be sorely mistaken. Her own idiocy seemed limitless to him; he had no clue what his kitsune friend saw in her…not that he ever thought about it much. He had his own concerns for Yukina and the oaf Kuwabara on his hands already.

He watched as Kira tensed up under his probing demonic eyes, somewhat enjoying the fear he was instilling in her.

"Well, it was nice talking to you Hiei, but I've got to go." Kira started to take a step forward, but it only took a second for Hiei to move instantly in front of her with his arm held out to block her path. She froze, dread gripping her.

"What are you up to?" He sneered.

Kira gritted her teeth, trying to not let a look of pure horror seize her face. She wasn't used to being one-on-one with Hiei; in fact, she had trouble remembering the last time they had actually held a conversation together. She couldn't comprehend how Hiei and Kurama could get along; they both seemed so different, too different perhaps. Kurama was smart and nice while Hiei was…evil; it was the only word that came to Kira's mind when she thought about him, which was rare.

"I'm just going to the park," she chattered dumbly, "to get some fresh air."

She tried to skitter past him, but he grabbed the hem of the back of her shirt to keep her from going anywhere.

"Hey, let go!" Kira whined childishly as she flailed her arms around like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum in public no less. She caved within a minute. "Okay, look. These two little twerps that are going to be my stepbrothers get kidnapped and the said kidnapper left a message saying Osamu Park in my kitchen. So, logically I think that this demon wants me to meet him in the park and that's where I'm going! Satisfied?" She took a gulp of air before she started sulking with her head hung low.

A crooked smile found its way onto Hiei's lips. "Is that so?"

Kira nodded briskly. "Yep, that's the truth. Now, unhand me fiend!"

Hiei wasted no time in letting go of her shirt, but because Kira had been trying to pull away at the same time she was caught off balance and fell onto the ground with a resonant thud. She bit her lip to keep herself from grumbling curse words as she pushed herself up with the palms of her hands and glared at Hiei. "What are you thinking?"

"Do you know who this demon is by any chance?"

She shook her head as she got back onto her feet. "No clue. Does it matter? Wait…wait! You're thinking of tagging along, aren't you?" Kira made an 'X' in front of her body with her arms. "Nuh-uh! No way! This baddie is mine to beat the living crap out of! Find your own punching bag!"

"Not if I get there first." He snarled competitively as he turned on his heel to race to the park to get there before Kira, however she had perceived this and instantly tackled him to the curb roughly. He craned his neck up and shouted venomously at her, "Get off of me if you value your life!"

"Shut up! This is my fight!" Kira growled back with equal malice.

Hiei threw her off of him, sending her skidding into the middle of the street. Kira reclined on her elbows as she and Hiei glared fiercely at one another.

"Whoever gets there first gets to fight." He said with a glint in his eyes before speeding away like a black blur, leaving a dust cloud in his wake.

Kira blinked a couple of times and opened and closed her mouth like a fish under water. She stood up, feeling frazzled. Was he going to take her fight? She clenched her fists in determination and scowled angrily, "Not over my dead body…" She took off sprinting in the same direction he took off in.

Osamu Park was a fairly large area filled with dense areas of trees and bushes. It wasn't the typical park that had playgrounds or public restrooms or water fountains. Rather, it was a preserved piece of nature in the middle of a hustling bustling city that mostly environmental buffs took any pleasure in visiting. It spanned over a few hills and was surrounded by large office buildings on all its sides; it looked like a little forest in the middle of gigantic skyscrapers. Needless to say, it was definitely out of place among modern society.

Kira arrived in front of the entrance to the park while panting heavily, her lungs seemed like they were on fire. She put her hands behind her head in order to catch her breath. There was no doubt in her mind that Hiei had gotten here before she had, he was much faster than she was and he had gotten a head start too.

She walked under the large wooden gateway entrance into the park. Her feet felt heavy from running and she was still trying to catch her breath. A refreshing breeze snaked through the trees, rattling the branches over her head and chilling her face that had a thin yet sheen layer of sweat covering it.

As she descended deeper and deeper into the park with no sign of Hiei or the alleged demon she wondered if she had interpreted the message correctly. Then again, how could a message saying Osamu Park be any clearer? She felt like banging her head against a tree trunk for second-guessing it.

Kira blew her bangs out of her face in agitation as she waited for something –anything- to happen. Minutes went by slowly and after an eternity half an hour past.

Feeling more than enough frustrated for one day, Kira plopped down on the ground with her legs crossed as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She jiggled her foot as she sat with puckered lips and bored eyes. _I'm beginning to wonder if this whole thing was a hoax. Maybe the twins just staged their own disappearance to get back at me. I haven't been able to pick up on any demonic presence in the area, but something still doesn't feel right._ _And why do I feel like someone's watching me…?_

Suddenly, she felt a huge non-visible force collide with the back of her head, knocking her over on the ground with her arms sprawled out in an effort to lessen the impact of the fall. She felt the prickly grass beneath her chin and lifted her head up. Her head throbbed in pain as she struggled to get up only to have an invisible force hit her in the stomach and send her flying back into a tree. She yelped in pain as her back slammed into the trunk of the tree before she slid down it and back onto the ground.

Her head and her abdomen were racked in simultaneous pain. She felt as though she couldn't move because the impacts had hurt so much.

For a moment, there was a tranquil silence. All that Kira could hear was the sound of her own heavy breathing as her heart pounded against her ribcage in alarm.

The silence was shattered by a piercingly high-pitch, manic twitter that echoed in Kira's ears even after it had stopped.

The teenage girl pushed her hair out of her face as her eyes scanned the surrounding area for whoever was out there. Why couldn't she sense anything? It was as if she was all alone. She didn't see anyone, but she cringed when she noticed how much her back was aching. It was like someone had beaten her with a thousand hammers.

She saw an overshadowed figure step out from behind a tree and into her view. It was a girl who appeared no older than Kira. Her short white hair was brushed off to the side and she was wearing a silver dress with a long slit up the side and had a black sash tied around the waist into a bow.

"Hello." The demon, Shirogane, said mellifluously with a leer in Kira's direction.

Kira's fingers dug into the wet dirt under the grass. "Who are you?"

"Shirogane." She replied curtly, keeping her seething eyes locked on Kira. "I'm Hosaki's younger half-sister."

Kira gaped in complete disbelief at her. "You're related to that…that thing!"

Shirogane's gaze darkened dramatically. "A few days ago she implored my help to get rid of a few troublesome persons and then she shows up dead in the middle of that old bag psychic's temple."

Realization dawned on Kira. "You're the reason everyone acted strangely. Why?"

"It's one of my powers," Shirogane said scathingly, "however, that certain power fades when the moon wanes, but then my other powers get stronger on the day of the new moon." She looked pleased with herself. "That is why I wanted you to come fight me at the time when my power is at its most potent. I'm not about to let you get away with what you did."

_So Kurama was right about the phases of the moon_, Kira thought grumpily, _I'll never hear the end of it when I tell him that._

"So you abducted Nao and Yasuo so you could lure me out here to kill me, ne?" Kira scoffed with a grin. "You're just as unimaginative as Hosaki. Can't you think of anything original? This is such an overused plot line."

"You try thinking about how to go about getting revenge about you found out that your sister's been murdered in cold blood!" Shirogane countered.

Kira didn't have time to react before another rock hard blow struck her across the face, making her hit the ground. Bright red blood splattered out of her mouth and nose and onto the grass beneath her. She held her nose with her hand, which was now violently gushing blood like a waterfall as a thin trail of the crimson liquid trickled out of her mouth and down her chin.

"What's the matter?" Shirogane teased. "I thought you were a psychic, yet you aren't fighting back."

Kira looked at her crossly. She quickly raised up the hand that wasn't holding her bloody nose to knock Shirogane back with her powers, but as hard as she tried to summon the power to do so…nothing happened. Kira stared at her hand in shock. Why wasn't it working? Why wasn't she able to sue her psychic abilities that Genkai taught her?

She didn't have too much time to ponder the subject when Shirogane's invisible force smashed into her side, causing Kira to go flying into some nearby bushes where the razor sharp leaves left deep gashes and scratches all over her body.

She lay helplessly in the bushes as blood was dribbled down her arms and legs. She hadn't been so defenseless since the first time she had died. It occurred to her that without the use of her powers Shirogane could end her life and she wasn't sure if there was a way to come back from the other world this time. The thought of that terrified her.

Kira stumbled out of the bushes covered in her own blood, looking like someone who had just gotten hit with a truck and was somehow able to walk. At least she still had her old stamina, if not she could have already been dead.

Shirogane smirked sadistically at Kira's lackluster appearance. "Impressive. Let's see how much more you can stand, shall we?"

Kira felt lightheaded as she tried to focus her eyes on Shirogane, but the blood loss was making her dizzy and she had trouble standing up right. She latched onto a tree to keep herself from falling over. The forest was spinning around her and she nearly retched at the salty taste of an overwhelming amount of blood in her mouth. Kira wasn't sure if she could take one more blow without blacking out.

Suddenly there was a flash of metal between Kira and Shirogane as the fire apparition made his appearance, the bottom of his black cloak fluttering as a cool blast of air flew by. His sword was drawn, the tip of the blade pointing at Shirogane.

"You came to save me!" Kira cried happily despite the agony that her injuries inflicted upon her whenever she moved. "I knew you cared!"

Hiei glared harshly over his shoulder at the severely wounded teenager. "Hn, don't get your hopes up. I was just getting bored watching you get reamed." He faced a nonplussed Shirogane. "Besides, she's responsible for my humiliation. I'm not about to let you get in the way of my redemption. I'm going to make her pay."

"Say whatever you want," Kira said tiredly, who was still holding her bloody nose so her voice sounded congested, "just don't kill that whelp in front of me." Her bangs cast a shadow over her brown eyes. "I'm getting sick of watching people die and I'm sick of constantly being on the brink of death myself."

Hiei traced the blade of his katana with his index and middle finger before getting in a fighting stance.

Neither Hiei nor Kira were prepared for what Shirogane did next.

The white haired demoness squealed joyfully at such a loud frequency that Kira was sure her eardrums were going to burst. "OHMYYOU'RESOOOCUTE!" She leaped on Hiei without warning and wrapped her arms around his midsection. "MARRYMEMARRYME!"

Hiei, feeling extraordinarily violated and extremely repulsed, tried in vein to push her off of him. "If you don't let go I'll slit your throat, wench!"

"I promise you I'll be a good wife and a loving mother to our children!" Shirogane protested as he tried to shake her off. "I'll cook for you every night too! I make an excellent stew!"

Kira slowly started laughing hysterically at the sight of Shirogane clutching onto Hiei affectionately before she had to abruptly stop because more blood started spurting out of her nose.

"Umm…I hate to ruin the moment," Kira said, "but where are Nao and Yasuo?"

"Oh, those two little boys? I left them somewhere in the forest unconscious." Shirogane answered as she kept holding fast onto a thoroughly apathetic Hiei who was trying desperately to wriggle free from her embrace. He plainly didn't' know what to make of the smitten demoness.

"Where in the forest?"

"A couple hundred meters back." Shirogane nuzzled the incensed fire demon's chest lovingly. "Don't fight it, darling. Give into your wonderful feelings for me."

Kira gave her a blank expression and sweatdropped. "What about your revenge on me for your sister?"

"Oh that? I don't care anymore. I just wanted an excuse to fight someone and I've never really like Hosaki too much. She was also so bossy and emotional. Besides, I've moved on and have found the love of my life." She winked at Hiei.

"Riiiight." Kira exhaled noisily. "Well, I'll just be limping along then. Don't mind me." With that, she limped pathetically away deciding it was best to give the two new 'lovebirds' some privacy and ventured off to find the twerps.

* * *

"What on earth happened to you?" Rika's jaw dropped when she saw the ghastly state her daughter was in when she entered the bathroom. 

"Oh you know, the usual, revenge seeking demons and the what have you. Nothing unusual ever happens of course." Kira replied gloomily as she finished applying the last of what seemed like hundred of bandages to a scratch on her shin. She had two pieces of gauze shoved up her nostrils to keep the blood from tunneling into her mouth and bandages all over herself. She was a regular living mummy.

"You're not being funny." Her mother said shrewdly. "Did anything happen to the twins?"

"Not really, they just carried off by said revenge seeking demon. Don't worry though, I found them knocked out in the middle of Osamu Park."

"Kira." Her mother said pointedly.

"What? They're perfectly fine! Sound asleep in their beds like little babies! It's so relieving to know that you care about your daughter who almost got killed today for the millionth time. I wouldn't have gotten the shit kicked out of me if I had my powers, but those mysteriously disappeared when I really needed them."

Rika put a hand on her waist. "Kira, I've been thinking about this demon thing. I know you enjoy it and it allows you to be close to your friends, but maybe now is a good time to think about quitting."

Kira's head shot up. "What? Why?"

"It's dangerous and just look at yourself in the mirror! I don't want to live everyday knowing that any second some demon could kill you and now that you can't use your powers I'm going to be even more scared for you. You should be in a hospital for crying out loud with injuries like these! I'm going to call the hospital right now and don't you dare argue with me, you need medical care. I'm sure Kurama would agree with me on this."

Kira lowered her eyes to the ground as her mother stomped out of the bathroom. She threw the box of band-aids against the wall before sitting down in the bathtub with her legs dangling over the side. Perhaps her mother was right, perhaps she should quit…what good was she now?

After a day like today, Kira wasn't sure she was going to be able to hack it anymore. With her powers enigmatically vanishing, there was nothing she could do for anyone anymore in the current state she was in.

It was time to face the facts, she was just a normal human girl again. It was as simple as that.

XXXXXX

I listened to _Inner Universe _by Yoko Kanno a gazillion times while writing this. 8D

Dc-chan: -head falls on the keyboard due to exhaustion from writing this disgustingly long chapter- askdfhahf8aduafj du9 8d9 89 89ado kd; ka' k ak fjadfn 8a9 mmkdmfkajfkdjkjk;;;;;;;;;;;

Now time for some complete irrelevant bull crap:

TRANSFORMERS OMFG! Please tell me I'm not the only person in the world that's totally freaking psyched as hell for that movie.

AUTOBOTS OR DECEPTICONS? I personally like both, but I tend to lean more towards the Decepticons. :3

NEXT CHAPTER: Juxtaposition

ROLL OUT,

Dc-chan –your dead tired, but totally Transformers movie ecstatic author-

P.S. Fear not! There will be actual fights in upcoming chapters. I apologize for being so anti-climatic recently. Now, review or something...


	31. Juxtaposition

OMGWTFBBQ????2agafgfhjkhkfg;;ghj

Dc-chan: It's a short chapter for all you people who want more Kira and Kurama moments mixed with some awkwardness (there's no humor in this chapter, but if there is then it wasn't intentional). But of course, someone isn't too pleased with the progress of their relationship…ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho (what a surprise!) and I don't own your mom either. P:

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

And Lillith, my newly deceased hamster. 6.17.05-7.4.07

XXXXXX

Chapter 31 of Define 'Normal'

Juxtaposition

Kurama walked along the scratched up tiled floor in the hospital with his hands in his pants pockets. He was never particularly fond of places like this, especially after his mother got over her illness. He didn't like seeing someone he cared about lying helplessly in a hospital bed and having his visiting hours constricted to certain frames of time. It was already late in the afternoon, nearing five'o'clock the last time he bothered to check.

Whenever a group of nurses past him they would huddle together blushing and giggling like shameless schoolgirls.

He ignored their stares though and pressed on down the hallway, focused solely on his mission, which was getting the chance to see Kira for the first time in a month. After her mother had her submitted to the hospital for the injuries she sustained the doctors discovered that she had several fractured ribs and internal bleeding in addition to her array bruises and gashes all over her body. She hadn't been allowed any visitors except for family members, but now that her condition had improved he was allowed to visit her, which made him very relieved. However, he wasn't sure how Kira would react to him dropping in on her.

Out of the corners of his emerald eyes he read the numbers off of each door he past. _145…146…147…_

_148._

This was the room that the nurse at the front desk had told him Kira was staying in. His reached out his hand and grabbed the door handle, he paused and bit his lip. For some reason he felt a little shaky. Kira didn't know he was coming and there was no way for him to know if his company was wanted or not. He almost turned and walked away, but somehow he summoned the guts to turn the handle and open the door.

He stood in the doorway for a moment as his eyes settled on a teenage girl sitting hunched over in a bed with white sheets. Her black hair hung over her face and her arms, which were the only part of her skin visible because of the hospital gown she was wearing, were covered in patches of delicate-looking pink skin, in other words, scars.

She lifted her head up when she heard him close the door and ran a hand through her hair to push it out of her face. She immediately pouted playfully when she saw him. "Took you long enough to visit, jerk."

"Sorry about taking so long. The hospital was quite adamant that only family could visit you for a while. "Kurama chuckled in amusement as he came forward and sat down on the edge of the bed. He turned his head to talk to her. "I'm glad to know you wanted me to come."

"You thought I didn't?" Kira scrunched her nose distastefully.

"Well, I just thought that maybe you'd be-"

"-In a bad mood." Kira finished for him rather harshly.

He raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of tone. "You are, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am pretty ticked off." She looked away from him, feeling embarrassed for snapping at him like that. The whole situation of not having her psychic or demonic powers was just irritating her more and more each day. Kurama probably couldn't comprehend the feeling of being completely defenseless like this or feeling totally useless.

Kurama saw Kira's hand resting in her lap and contemplated reaching out to take it, but he resisted the urge. Despite that, he wanted to make her feel better, but he didn't know how to go about that in the first place.

"I can't use my psychic powers anymore," Kira abruptly blurted out, breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen over them.

Kurama blinked in surprise. "What?" She had certainly caught him off guard with that sudden divulgence of information.

"I know you heard me, Kurama." Kira said with narrowed eyes.

He groped his mind for the right words to say. What could he say? Should he even say anything?

Kurama felt her lace fingers with him before resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"I'm I being too weird for you, right now?" Kira asked quietly with half-closed eyelids, appearing a bit melancholy.

"I was under the impression that you always acted weird." Kurama replied, which earned him a sour look from her. "Fortunately for you, I happen to enjoy it when you're being strangely affectionate in your own weird way."

"It thrills me to know that you treasure moments like these." She said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. "I digress though, the lack of my psychic abilities frustrates me and I must admit that I have been prone to acting like a wacko lately. Yesterday, I acted perfectly friendly towards Nao and Yasuo when they came here with my mom."

"Nao and Yasuo?"

"My _darling _future stepbrothers." Kira clarified haughtily. "Back to the problem at hand though…"

Kurama shrugged his shoulders effortlessly. "I can't think of any reason that would cause you to lose your psychic powers." He gazed up at the ceiling as he mulled the matter over in his head. It was difficult to know what to do because the cause of her loss of powers could have been the result of innumerous possibilities. "Perhaps you should contact Genkai and tell her. I'm sure she might be able to help in this case."

Kira groaned before sinking back into her bed, laying her head against the pillows. "Kurama, I'm already beaten up enough as is. If I go back to her temple there's no guarantee that I'll come out alive. You want to send a poor, helpless girl into the pits of hell? Not very boyfriend-like if you ask me."

"It will be alright." He said in a soothing voice. "She'll understand."

"Phfft. She'll call me an incompetent moron and make me train even harder." Kira mumbled under her breath maliciously.

He chuckled lightheartedly as he put his hand on top of Kira's head reassuringly. "Don't worry about it now Kira, you need to rest."

"No kidding. I haven't been sleeping that much recently. See the dark bags under my eyes. I look like shit these days." Kira fumed bitterly with her eyebrows knitted together in agitation.

Kurama put his hand under her chin and tilted her face up. He then put his arm above her head on the pillows to prop himself up and leaned down close to her until the tip of his nose nearly touched hers. His green eyes gazed intently into her brown ones. "Your eyes are lovely, Kira." It wasn't a lie, just a simple truth he was telling her.

A faint pink blush spread across her cheeks. Psychical intimacy of this magnitude made her feel uncomfortable and awkward, but intrigued nonetheless. At least her heart wasn't racing like all the other times they got this close to one another. However, compliments like that were enough to make her want to shrivel up and disappear in a corner of the cramped room in embarrassment.

Kurama arched an eyebrow and pulled away with a slightly bemused expression. "You're giving me that look again."

"Eh? What look?" Kira's demanded while her face reddened. Apparently, making a fool out of herself had become second nature to her, but she tried to keep a poker face on.

"The one where you stare at me like I've suddenly grown another head." He said reluctantly.

"Oh…that one…" Kira drummed her fingertips together in abashment. "Then maybe you shouldn't get all mushy on me. It makes me feel…"

"Weird?" He supplied with a small smile tugging at his lips.

She nodded curtly, "Precisely."

"That word seems to be our theme today," Kurama sighed serenely as he watched Kira wrap her arms around a pillow sheepishly. "Feeling tired?" He sat up straight before placing a hand on the small of her back compassionately. She already looked like she was half-asleep, perhaps her days of sleep deprivation were taking a toll on her just like when she returned from Genkai's a month ago.

She glanced up at him with drooping eyelids. "Kinda…like I said, I haven't slept in a while so it must be finally getting to me." She yawned idly and nuzzled the side of her face against the soft, puffy pillow.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked in a whisper as he brushed some stray strands of hair away from her eyes gently with his hand.

Kira shook her head slightly. "Please stay, just until I fall asleep." She wanted to add that it would make her feel safer in her time of crisis, but she decided to keep that to herself. She didn't like the idea of revealing how vulnerable and pathetic she was feeling, even to someone she trusted like Kurama. It also seemed like a childish request to ask him to stay with her for the sole purpose of wanting to feel guarded and watched after.

"How about I stay in here with you until the doctors kick me out?" He looked at the digital clock on the bedside table on the other side of Kira's bed to check the time. "That gives us about four hours."

"Sounds good to me," Kira responded in a muffled tone. She hefted her shoulders up and down before exhaling tranquilly. She still felt Kurama's hand on her back and it was comforting to know that he was going to stay as long as he could. What had she ever done to deserve someone as caring as him? Kira didn't have much time to ponder about that as she grew more and more relaxed before finally succumbing to a deep slumber.

Kurama felt her back raise and fall gradually under his hand as she breathed in and out slowly while she slept peacefully. Seeing her sleep was a rather unusual change of pace for him partially because he was so accustomed to her energetic personality and how vivacious she was every day. It was nice though, she looked so cute and harmless as she hugged the pillow with her legs drawn in towards her chest.

He let his fingers trace a few of the scars on her arms gingerly, being extremely careful not to rouse her. Sometimes it amazed him how delicate a person could be no matter how tough or in control they acted.

_Aw, look at that. _Youko's voice cooed in the back of his mind. _She's out like a light._

Kurama stiffened at the unwelcome sound of the demon's voice. _What do you want?_

_Oh, nothing…but now would be an opportune time to take advantage of her, if you catch my drift. _The demon replied slyly.

_I'm not as rash to do something as repulsive as that. _Kurama fired back as a vein throbbed on his temple. It was hard not to let Youko bug him, especially when the demon was so persistent with his devious sexual advances towards Kira. _Neither of us are ready for that kind of commitment.  
_

_I've never thought of intercourse as 'commitment', it's more like marking your territory. But say whatever you want , you know you've considered it._

_You mean **you've** considered it. _Kurama thought ruefully. He hated how Youko let his instincts, which usually fell into the categories of survival and sex, rule him.

Youko's laughter rang in his ears. _And you haven't? Regardless of our differences Kurama, we're both males with certain promiscuous and lustful urges_. _Though, you go through a lot to suppress them, but I'm not too worried because I know you will give into them eventually. It's in our nature._

_I can't believe what I'm hearing…_The red haired teenager was more than fed up with Youko voicing his carnal desire vividly in his head. It made it hard for him to look at Kira without being influenced by Youko's point of view.

_See? I've already got you thinking like me. _The fox demon said contentedly, fully aware of every single thought Kurama was having especially when it involved Kira.

Kurama ran a hand over his face, he could tell that this was going to be a long four hours ahead of him.

* * *

Kokuei felt rage and fury engulf him as his sharp eyes focused on the scene in front of him that he had been watching for almost three-and-a-half hours. He was standing on the top of a building across from the hospital that had a clear view through the window into the room Kira was staying in. He was silhouetted against the luminous full moon behind him, making him look like a dark mysterious figure perched atop of a roof . A howling wind rippled through his dark hair and made the ends of his black trench coat flutter, he felt the cold night wind against his face that was burning in anger. 

It appeared that the kitsune hadn't heeded the warning he made Ranmyaku deliver during the holidays a few months ago. He should have expected as much too, Kokuei had a hunch that Kurama would never give Kira up so easily. He had to admit to himself that despite this minor drawback, it was going to make everything much more interesting in the long run.

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he witnessed the kitsune continuing to stare with concern at Kira, unaware of the hostile argument that was ensuing inside of Kurama's mind with his demonic counterpart. Kokuei clenched his fists tightly enough that his hands turned white and gritted his teeth.

"I'll make him pay for thinking he could get so close to her without any consequences for his actions," he growled venomously. "I'm going to enjoy tearing them apart." A sadistic grin came across his mouth as his eyes glinted devilishly.

He had a plan to win Kira over once and for all. It would take a bit of manipulation, force and tough love, but he was positive he could pull it off and eventually have her for himself. All he would have to do is appeal to her deepest desires…regaining her powers. Something which Kurama would never be able to offer her. In exchange for this though, she would have tobecome his, but she wouldn't have to know that last tidbit until it was too late for her to do anything about it.

Ah, the wonderful plans a dark and twisted mind concocts from within the shadows.

XXXXXX

Dc-chan: Boy, I'm plowing through this story, aren't I? Perhaps I've found some long delayed motivation to finish this? Or maybe I'm just extremely bored and have nothing better to do than write stories. Meh. I had to reread some past chapters to remind myself what Kokuei was up to. Haha, I'm so forgetful. I almost changed his plan around entirely, but whatever, ignore my ramblings.

NEXT CHAPTER: Poisoned Seduction (DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!)

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan –your resident Transformers geek who has already seen the movie THREE times-


	32. Poisoned Seduction

Dc-chan: I've almost completely lost motivation for writing this fic, but I'm so close to the end…-.-;;

GIVE ME SOME MOTIVATION TO FINISH THIS PLEASE! ;A;

Disclaimer: I really don't own YYH. --;

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

XXXXXX

Chapter 32 of Define 'Normal'

Poisoned Seduction

Kira slipped the plain white shirt on over her head and pulled it at the hem so it came down over her stomach. She fiddled with the collar for a few moments, over the course of the past few weeks while in the hospital she had forgotten what it felt like to wear normal clothes. She then pulled her hair back into a ponytail, ignoring the stray strands that fell around her face. Kira patted the back pockets of the pair of jeans she had on; they felt looser than the last time she had worn them over a month ago.

Everything just felt so weird and foreign to her, even normal things like getting dressed.

She glanced down at her wrist and saw that several plastic hospital bracelets that were fastened around it. She had accumulated quite a collection of them while at the hospital, though it was nothing to be proud of.

Kira gave one last look around the small room that had been her home for over a month. It was good to be finally leaving this place behind for the time being. Being in such a sterile place for so long almost drove her crazy and imagining that you were banging your head repeatedly against a wall wasn't always the best way to pass the time. If it wasn't for Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara visiting for the past week she felt as though she would've gone mental.

After a sharp intake of breath and without a second thought she left the sterile room.

* * *

"We found it." 

Kokuei glanced over his shoulder and stared unblinkingly at Atsureki and Ranmyaku who were kneeling before him. He turned around, the bottom of his trench coat swooshing around his knees as he did so. He loomed over them with a sneer on his face.

"Let me see it."

Atsureki plunged her hand into the long black sleeve of her cloak before pulling out a small wooden box with ancient cravings covering its surface. The wood was old and a deep brown color and there was dust on it, as if it hadn't seen the light of day in centuries. She held the object up for her master to take with her head bowed down low in submission.

Kokuei took the box from her and examined it in the palm of his hand. "Are you sure this is it?"

Atsureki nudged her companion, Ranmyaku, in the gut with her bony elbow.

"We went through much trouble to acquire it for you and there is no doubt within our minds that this is what you seek." The blond replied confidently.

The demon stared at it before cupping it in both hands and placing his thumbs on the little groove in the middle of one of the box's sides. He pushed up with his thumbs and a tiny click was heard as the lid opened. There was a small pearly covered cushion inside and on that rested a bracelet. He took it out, the thin silvery chain felt like a string of liquid in his hand. Upon closer inspection he noticed that on the chain there were miniscule engravings covering every inch of it.

A devious smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as his hand closed around the bracelet. "This is what I've been looking for. Now, I just have to get the girl."

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE?" Kira shouted as she pointed a finger at Shirogane who was laughing and waving audaciously at her from a safe distance. Kira felt absolutely homicidal the instant she spotted the white haired demoness a split second ago, all rational thought wiped from her mind. 

"You two know each other, Kamiyama?" Yusuke's brown eyes widened in surprise.

"Know her? KNOW HER?" Kira snapped angrily as she rounded on the teenage boy, her face red in rage. "That bitch tried to kill me!"

"Well, at least we can skip introductions then." He joked as he scratched the back of his head. Big mistake.

Kira began driving her fists into his torso. "YOU'RE (punch) NOT (punch) FUNNY (punch) JACK (punch) ASS (punch)!"

Yusuke doubled over and hugged his stomach. "I thought jackass was one word." He protested against the unnecessary punch she had thrown in by splitting up the word into syllables.

"Not in my dictionary," Kira fired back and raised her fist to punch him once more, but Yusuke quickly grabbed both of her arms and twisted them behind her back.

"I don't know where you get off treating me like your personal punching bag, but you seriously need to stop it."

"You're not my mother." Kira spat.

"Obviously." Yusuke retorted.

"Then stop telling me what to do!" She wriggled free from his grasp before sending another scathing glare in Shirogane's direction.

Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. "How the hell does Kurama put up with you?"

She ignored his comment and continued intently glaring at Shirogane. Why was she here of all places? She had figured that Hiei might've killed her by now because she was ceaselessly annoying. This clearly defied all known logic. She highly doubted any of her friends would be so keen with that demoness if they knew that she was the one who had almost killed her. Perhaps everyone was under another one of Shirogane's spells again? That had to be it. There was no other explanation, but without her powers how could she beat her?

Yusuke noticed the teenage girl's angry expression and sighed. "Believe it or not, but Shirogane's been helping us. Looks like her little crush on Hiei was enough to make her want to help us in order to get on his good side."

Kira blinked skeptically at this. "You're kidding me, right? You do know that she's the one who put me in the hospital. I can't believe you're okay with her!"

"Just calm down and let me explain," Yusuke said in an aggravated tone, now wishing that Kurama were in his place instead of himself. Kurama would know how to handle this situation without getting his head bitten off by her. "We've been working on a case recently while you've been in the hospital. Well, actually, all we've really been doing is investigating some demons that have committed some crimes in Ningenkai. It's nothing too out of the ordinary, but there might be a confrontation coming up soon since we're probably going to have to arrest them. So, yeah…that's the whole enchilada."

"Just investigating?" Kira asked with narrowed eyes and a frown tugging at the edges of her mouth. _There's something he's not telling me._

"It's really nothing." He glanced cautiously over his shoulder at Shirogane who still smiling like a satisfied idiot. He then looked back at Kira and shoved his hands in his pants pockets, "But basically we don't want you to get all worked up over it."

"And why would I?" She pressed; instinct told her he was hiding something from her. Kira then whirled around to face Shirogane who was in the middle of dramatically miming Kira's anger behind the girl's back . "And will you stop annoying the hell out of me? Can we please just get rid of her? This is ridiculous!"

Yusuke ignored the second part of Kira's outburst and addressed the former in his usual carefree tone. "Well, you don't exactly have your powers, right?"

Kira turned her fierce stare from Shirogane to Yusuke, her eyebrows angled down sharply as malice burned intensely in her eyes. "So?"

"So," Yusuke continued while waving a hand dismissively, "its not like you can be helpful with this case, or at least, that's what the toddler said about it."

Kira froze in her tracks and her anger disintegrated. The previous rage that had engulfed her was replaced with a feeling of uselessness. Even Shirogane's loud laughter that was ringing in her ears couldn't cause her temper to flare again.

"He…Koenma said that?"

He stopped and looked back at her with his mouth skewed to the side. It took him a few seconds to register the emotion that was fixed on Kira's face; she was hurt.

Yusuke patted her on the back roughly in an effort to cheer her up. "It's not like these kinds of assignments are exciting or anything. Trust me, you're not missing much."

She diverted her eyes away. "What did Kurama say?"

A span of tense silence fell over the two teenagers.

Yusuke had no clue what to say or how to respond yet again. He grumbled and swore mentally in his head over and over. He hated being the middle man and being forced into the position convey messages such as these.

Kira sighed heavily, she knew what Yusuke's silence meant. "I knew it. He's on Koenma's side, isn't he?"

"It wasn't just Kurama and Koenma," Shirogane cut in with a devilish smirk, "everyone was saying how you shouldn't get involved in this not only because you don't have you powers anymore, but because-"

"Keep your trap shut!" Yusuke hissed venomously as he clamped his hand over the demon's mouth.

"Because…?" Kira tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Because it's not that important. There's always some idiotic demons stirring up trouble and we're just going to take care of it." Yusuke supplied hastily though he felt guilty lying to her. But what could he do? He couldn't tell her that one of the demons that they were investigating was Kokuei or else he'd have to deal with a very angry fox demon.

"Yeah," Kira said shakily and lowering her head, "it's not a big deal. There's always someone causing trouble." She repeated in a strained voice and it sounded as if she was merely saying it only to convince herself that it was nothing big enough to worry herself about. She sighed quietly, "I'm going to go home."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Wha? Why?" He trotted after her retreating back with a confused expression. When he caught up to her he leaned down and asked in a suspicious voice, "Is it because she's here?"

She didn't bother to glance over her shoulder at Shirogane, but gave him a half nod to affirm his suspicions before saying, "And some other things are annoying me right now."

"So you're going to leave me alone with this psychopath?"

"Of course, she's your problem now."

"Great friend you are…" he muttered bitterly.

"Yeah, yeah," Kira replied while waving one of her hands in the air dismissively as she began walking down the sidewalk and away from Yusuke and the annoying pest, Shirogane.

She almost regretted leaving Yusuke alone with the demoness. The keyword here is almost. After all that time being kept away in the hospital she had sorely longed for human contact and now she was throwing it away just because she decided on being a stubborn brat again.

_Shirogane's not the real reason I'm upset though. Sure, she did try to kill me, but what's really bothering me is…the real reason I'm upset is…_

She paused in the middle of the sidewalk and cast her eyes down to the ground in a forlorn manner.

_The real reason I'm upset is because I don't have my powers anymore._ _I'm defenseless, hopeless and useless to everyone around me. Now I'm going to have to rely on everyone protecting me from danger and I don't want that. I want to be able to take care of myself without having to depend on anyone._

Kira crouched down on the cement sidewalk and buried her face in her arms.

Not being able to protect herself…why did that thought seem to frighten her so much?

She didn't want to delve any deeper into her thoughts to find the answer because she knew it would only unearth even more sordid and miserable emotions.

She yelped in surprise when she felt long cold fingers latch onto her slim wrist tightly and she was suddenly pulled back up onto her feet.

Kira's train of thoughts froze when she found herself staring into Kokuei's dark eyes. Her worries seemed to melt away in his presence however, she finally winced when she realized that he was squeezing her bony wrist a bit too hard for comfort.

Noticing this, Kokuei immediately released her wrist. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Kira mumbled in reply as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She mentally cursed at herself for blushing in front of him like some shameless little schoolgirl. Kurama was usually the one nowadays that made her feel this way, but it appeared that he also had the same effect on her. She looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet. There was one thing different between the way Kokuei made her feel that was distinctively different from her feelings for Kurama though; whenever she was around Kokuei she had an oncoming sense of dread.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked quietly, taking a step towards her.

"What about?" her tone was more hostile than she intended it to be, but something about Kokuei was unsettling. Even without her powers she was picking up a bad vibe from him. _Strange_, she thought dryly, _I usually never sense anything odd from him, but now I do? Maybe I'm just being cautious?_

Kokuei noticed her reluctance and offered a small crooked smile in hopes to ease her fears. "I've heard a rumor."

Kira pursed her lips together; she already didn't like the sound of where this was going.

"Yeah, so? What would I know about some rumor? Everyone's been keeping me out of the loop this past month."

"I'm not talking about anything like that, I'm talking about you." He reached out and interlaced his fingers with hers before drawing her in closer towards him. "You lost your psychic powers, isn't that right?"

She crinkled her nose, "Yeah, but that happened a while ago."

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head down so his chin was resting on the top of her head. "You're really defenseless then…what does that fox think of this?"

"That's none of your business!" Kira fumed angrily with a vein throbbing in her temple.

Kokuei continued his line of questioning in a calm, smooth voice. "Haven't any of your friends tried to restore your powers yet?"

"They've been busy with other things." Kira shot back venomously.

Kokuei's smile slowly turned into a disappointed frown. "It's as I thought then."

A question mark appeared over Kira's head. "What? What are you talking about?"

He placed a hand on the back of the teenaged girl's head solemnly. "Don't you think it's strange that your powers mysteriously vanished and your friends are doing nothing to help you get them back?"

"Don't tell me…" Kira's eyes widened. However, her surprise quickly turned into rage. "How can you even suggest such a thing? They're my friends! They would never do something like-"

"Can you say that with one hundred percent certainty?"

The torn expression on Kira's face was clear evidence to the demon that his plan was working. Planting a seed of doubt within her mind would only make it easier to have her betray her friends and join him. She was far more vulnerable than he had first anticipated. He deduced it was much better this way though, had she put up any resistance to him there might have been a fight and he had no desire to hurt her.

He cupped her face in his hands gingerly. "What would you do if I told you that I can help you get your powers back? That way you'll never ever have to feel this way again, what would you do for me?"

Kira exhaled heavily, her body was shaking uncontrollably. "Anything." _I hate feeling like this._

Kokuei leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Good girl."

**XXXXXX**

(Oh dear lord, Kira's turning into an emo. I must rectify this somehow. –is determined-)

Dc-chan: No more chapter titles in advance guys since this story is finally in its home stretch. I don't want to give anything away. ;D

Reviews would be nice. 8D

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan


	33. What Is Missing

Dc-chan: THIS FIC ISN'T DEAD YET! D:

Thanks for the encouraging reviews last chapter. Seriously, I will finish this soon. I'm just not sure how soon though…

Disclaimer: Pigs will fly before I own Yu Yu Hakusho.

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 33 of Define 'Normal'

What Is Missing

"Where are we?" Kira asked as she stumbled blindly around a dark room. It seemed like only a second ago Kokuei was hugging her on the sidewalk in broad daylight and the next thing she knew she had fallen into this eerily familiar room. She immediately regretted her decision to go along with him and had a bad feeling that it was only going to get worse from here on out.

"You remember this place, right?" Kokuei asked as he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her back onto her feet.

"Well yea, but the last time I was here I was being held prisoner." She gulped loudly and slowly turned her head towards him with wide, fear-stricken eyes. "Did I just get kidnapped again?"

"You can't kidnap the willing." His voice was smooth and calm as he gently ran one of his hands through her hair.

She tried to squirm away from him, but without her powers she couldn't put up much of a fight. "It was a mistake. Let me go." Her better instincts were finally taking over as she recalled what everyone had told her about Kokuei. There was something not right with his motives and she now understood why everyone was so suspicious of him. He was a shady character. Why was she only now realizing this?

"Coming with me was a mistake?" he asked her softly.

"Yes, I shouldn't have listened to you," she affirmed in a meek tone while bobbing her head up and down. "Who knows what you're planning to do with me?"

"I won't make you do anything you don't want to." Kokuei growled, tightening his grip around her waist.

She doubted that somehow. "Listen, just let me go back home and let's forget that I actually listened to you for a second."

"Are you just saying that so you can return to be with that fox?"

Kira's face paled. She hadn't even thought about what he would think of this. Surely he would be upset with her, which only served to solidify her resolve to want to correct this impulsive mistake. She could just imagine how disappointed in her he would be if he ever found out about this. Kurama had warned her on numerous occasions to be wary of Kokuei. Why hadn't she listened to him then?

The answer seemed to supply itself: _Because I'm stubborn and stupid._

Kokuei was able to read her facial expression like it was an open book. He narrowed his eyes and snarled possessively, "I won't let you go back for him."

"You filthy hypocrite!" Kira spat while kicking her legs around in the air wildly and trying to twist out of his grasp. "You said you wouldn't make me do anything I didn't want to do!"

He chuckled darkly then released her, letting her fall on flat on her rear end on the stone hard ground.

Kira rubbed her backside, momentarily distracted by the stinging pain, "Shit, I landed on my tailbone…" She then glared up at him with a fiery glint in her eyes.

He knelt down on the ground next to her and put his hand in a pocket of his black worn trench coat before pulling out a silvery bracelet.

"Trying to woo me with fancy presents, are you?" Kira mocked with an unpleasant scowl. Her eyes studied the bracelet apprehensively that he was holding as if it were a sinister object rather than an appealing piece of jewelry.

He grabbed her wrist and fastened the bracelet around it. At first the chain appeared to be too long and hung limply from her wrist. Suddenly, it started glowing, much to Kira's surprise, and it began to shrink until it adjusted to the size of her small wrist. Little metal barbs poked out from the chain and embedded themselves in her flesh enabling her from taking it off.

Kira tried to rip it off as blood dribbled down her wrist. She looked back and forth between Kokuei and the bracelet in alarm. "What the hell? No matter what I'm not going to do as you say!" _Crap, crap, crap. _The bracelet wouldn't come off no matter how hard she tugged or clawed at it. She was starting to panic now as a feeling of lightheadedness swept over her like a wave of water. She fell forward, but caught herself. Her vision blurred and she felt as if she was being drained of all her energy.

Kokuei pulled the dizzy girl into his lap as he leaned his own back against the cold wall behind them. His hands ran over her shivering shoulders gingerly as if she was made of glass. "Kira, by the time the bracelet's taken its full effect on you I won't need to convince you do to anything. You'll be more than willing to do it on your own."

His words registered in her mind, but she felt so groggy and disoriented that she didn't think twice about them. It was if everything was slipping away from her. Images of people she knew flashed before her mind briefly before vanishing into thin air. Images of places she knew in New York and Japan followed suit, but met the same fate. It was as if her memories were fading away and darkness was replacing them.

Kokuei smirked devilishly as he hugged Kira while resting his chin on the top of her head. "Pretty soon even that damned fox won't be able to take you away from me."

* * *

Kurama sneezed twice before rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his uniform. _Someone must be speaking poorly of me_, he mused in his head as he walked down the sidewalk with his hands in his pants pockets. 

He was supposed to be meeting Yusuke and Shirogane today to go over possible plans to get rid of Kokuei once and for all. He recalled Yusuke mentioning over the phone that he had to drag Kira long because she was being nosy like always, but Kurama calmly reminded that Shirogane's presence would agitate her and she'd probably end up ditching them anyway.

Kurama sighed inwardly. He wasn't entirely looking forward to seeing Shirogane, not only was she Hosaki's sister, but she did attempt to kill Kira. It was only because Koenma told him not to harm the demoness for the time being that he was restraining his own desire to maim her for her actions.

He frowned as he mulled it over in his head. What Shirogane had done would normally be inexcusable for a demon and Reikai would administer some sort of punishment yet the demoness had yet to receive any. He could only find this logical if Koenma saw some use in having her around for now, but what would happen to her once she became useless to them?

He shook the thought out of his head. There was no reason to be worried about what became of her. She didn't deserve pity or remorse from anyone.

His somewhat dark thoughts were interrupted by an oddly familiar meowing sound coming from beside him.

Curiously, he glanced down at the sidewalk to see a dark purple fuzzball with demonic black wings and large blue eyes gazing up at him while pawing at his leg.

He bent down on the sidewalk as a bead of sweat slid down the side of his temple. "Ah, Koneko. I was wondering where you ran off to." No one had really seen the little demonic kitten in a while and its existence had almost been forgotten by everyone, which seemed rather cruel considering the huge role Koneko played in defeating Shikyo months ago.

Kurama picked the kitten up and cradled it in his arms. "I'm sure Kira will be happy to see you later…"

Koneko purred and rubbed the side of her head against his forearm affectionately as he carried her.

As he walked his demon sense started tingling and pure instinct told him that there was a large amount of demonic energy emitting from somewhere. Being part of the Spirit Detective team he couldn't just ignore it because there might be humans in danger. He was more than obligated to follow the demonic direction and investigate its origins.

It didn't take long to discover where the energy was coming from and as they neared it Koneko began squirming in his arms and eventually jumped down onto the concrete sidewalk while hissing noisily.

Kurama's brows furrowed as he rounded a street corner with Koneko at his heels to see a swirling mass of purple and black energy before him. From one brief glance he knew it was a portal and that he had seen one similar to it before. It was almost the same as the one Suzume conjured up so they could rescue Kira from Kokuei's scapegoat, Zetsubou.

His eyes studied the portal for a few minutes. Normal humans wouldn't be able to see something like this, which would explain why it was out in the open. A human like Kuwabara though, who had a sixth sense, could probably spot it easily. However, since most humans didn't possess a sixth sense many people walked by it without so much as noticing its presence.

Kurama swallowed the lump forming in his throat and decided this was something to report to Koenma after his meeting with Yusuke and Shirogane, he still didn't know if Kira was going to be there or not. He hoped she would be, he wanted to see her and be around her again.

Turning on his heel, he beckoned Koneko to follow him with a slight hand movement. Koneko eagerly tailed behind him while flapping her wings idily.

"OI! KURAMA!"

The fox looked over his shoulder at the sound of his name to see Yusuke running as a reluctant Shirogane followed in his wake. He turned around with raised eyebrows.

"Yusuke, what's-"

Before Kurama could finish Yusuke crudely cut him off as was in the nature of the gel-haired boy.

"Did you see Kamiyama?"

Kurama shiftily looked away. "Not yet today, I thought she was going to be with you. Don't tell me she ran off already." He couldn't deny feeling a tad let down by this. He hid his mild disappointment well.

"Well, you just came from the direction she darted off in so I thought that maybe she bumped into you." Yusuke folded his arms across his chest. "But then I felt that weird surge of demonic energy and I wondered if maybe she ran into someone or something…" Yusuke saw the flash of concern in the fox demon's green eyes. "What's eating you?"

"Did you just say that Kira went off in that direction?"

Shirogane decided to chime in with a wide grin on her face. "Maybe Kokuei got her!"

Yusuke hit the demoness on the top of the head with his fist. "Don't look so happy when you say that!"

Both of the teenage boys then exchanged rather bleak looks, but neither of them denied that possibility. It certainly seemed so far that that indeed was the case here.

"There was a portal there…" Kurama trailed off quietly as he immersed himself into his own thoughts.

"Geez, you think for once Kamiyama could prevent herself from being kidnapped." Yusuke muttered under his breath. "I've lost track of the times we've had to rescue her. I bet that bastard probably took her to the same place we had to go to face that idiot Zangetsu or whatever the hell his name was."

"Zetsubou." Kurama corrected quickly as tilted his head to the side. "But remember, Zetsubou was Kokuei's puppet."

"Oh yeah," Yusuke said as he scratched his chin, "but Kokuei is still the big bad guy no matter how you look at it. I mean, that bastard's been behind everything so far. I guess the demonic energy I sensed was probably coming from him when he created that portal, right?"

"I sensed immense dark energy coming from it." Kurama noted as he narrowed his eyes.

"So then we can safely assume that he made it," Yusuke said as he put his hand in his pockets. "I mean, he's the only demon around these days stupid enough to try to do something in broad daylight to Kamiyama."

"I thought along the same lines," Kurama replied darkly as he folded his arms across his chest while Koneko worriedly nudged his leg.

"Well, let's go in there and get her. Hey, what's with that face, Kurama? Aren't you worried?"

"Yusuke, we can't be rash about this. It would be better to wait for Hiei and Kuwabara to get here before rushing into things." He struggled to keep his voice calm, but it was far more difficult than he imagined. His instincts told him to group up with the others before rushing into unknown danger, but something else inside of him wanted nothing more than to run into the portal and tear Kokuei to shreds. However, for now, this matter should be handled delicately until they knew precisely what Kokuei was up to.

* * *

"Egh," her head throbbed as she cracked open her eyes, "what happened?" Her body felt…strange, almost weightless. It was then that she realized that she was resting against someone's firm chest. She didn't make any effort to move away though, it _was_ rather comfortable.

"What do you remember?" A solemn voice asked her.

She paused. "I don't really…remember anything…"

"Even your name?"

"I don't remember…"

"It's Kokoro."

"Really? That's a nice name."

She felt someone bury their face in the space between her shoulder and her head. "Yes, it is. It's your name after all."

"Then, who are you?"

The sensation of lips pressing against the crook of her neck made her involuntarily shudder. "I'm Kokuei, your lover."

**XXXXXX**

Dc-chan: AND SO THE PLOT THICKENS! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN.

By the way, I think this fic is long overdue for some bloopers so look forward to that in future chapters!

ROCK ON AND LOVE AND PEACE,

Dc-chan –your rejuvenated author who feels terrible for neglecting this story-

RANDOM NOTE:

Dc-chan: Takuto has basically been completely dropped from the story line since I forgot what his initial purpose was months ago…

Takuto: ;-;

Dc-chan: -pats his head- There, there. It happens to the best of us.


	34. Going Down

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. At long last I have updated this story. ;o

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**DEDICATION:** This is dedicated to my good friend who passed away. We all miss you so much Momo. Oct 22 2006

**XXXXXX**

Chapter 34 of Define 'Normal'

Going Down

She sat with her back leaning against his chest and her head under his chin, she could feel him running his fingers through her hair while his other arm was wrapped securely around her waist. Every now and then she heard him mutter her name in an affectionate tone.

"Kokoro, I've waited so long for this..."

Her eyelids flickered at the sound of that name, her name. Even though he said it so lovingly it felt like poison was seeping into her body every time it was uttered. She felt as if Kokuei had something sinister in his nature, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Kokoro, Kokoro..."

She felt his warm breath against her neck. She craned her neck away from him, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

He tightened his grip on her.

"Are you planning on leaving me all alone again?"

She sighed and leaned back up against him before shaking her head slowly.

"Good," he paused before brushing his lips lightly against her pale cheek, "because I can't stand being alone anymore."

She lowered her eyelids, unsure how to handle his display of affection. Even she knew there was something not right about this, but she was too tired and weak to protest.

* * *

"Okay, now that everyone has gathered together," Yusuke started with a fist raised midway in the air, "we can discuss how we're going to rescue the idiot, I mean, Kamiyama."

Hiei snorted, clearly displeased that they had bothered him about a matter he cared so little for. The teenage girl was annoying as hell and they were going to rescue her? It didn't make any sense to him, but he held his tongue and resisted saying anything antagonizing about the stupid girl out of respect for Kurama, who appeared to be the most disturbed by the whole issue. However, he was also silently fuming as the white haired, smitten demoness, Shirogane, clung to him adoringly. He had given up shaking her off hours ago, she was like a freaking leech to him.

"Now that the shrimp's here, can we finally go into that swirling mass of doom, I mean, the portal? Kuwabara asked, agitated. Yusuke had pulled him out of line for a concert he had been looking forward to for weeks so he was rightfully upset, but at the same time concerned for Kira's safety.

Kurama narrowed his eyes at his orange haired friend. He was getting the feeling that nobody was taking this too seriously for some reason. Perhaps it was because Kira had been kidnapped so many times that everyone failed to realize how much danger she could be in.

"This isn't a matter to be taken lightly," he warned them through gritted teeth. "Kira's been taken by Kokuei."

"Or at least, that's what we assume," Yusuke said with a nod. "Like I said earlier, he's the only one bold enough to pull a stunt like this." Even Yusuke had to admit that he wouldn't want to tempt Kurama's temper in the same manner Kokuei had a knack for. It was suicide to piss off Kurama, plain and simple.

"What's the plan then?" Hiei asked, a brow raised skeptically. He doubted that Yusuke had thought this far ahead. "We just hop on through this portal and beat the shit out of every demon we see until we find her?"

"You're making it sound too easy," Yusuke grumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "But that is more or less the plan."

"Precisely the point, though," Hiei smirked, "we have to think of what he's capable of first before we do anything."

"Yeah, but Kamiyama could be in real trouble," Kuwabara muttered out of the corner of his mouth, finally grasping the urgency of the situation. "He's probably had her for a couple hours already, who knows what he's doing with her right now..."

"You don't think he's..." Yusuke's face paled whiter than a ghost's.

Kuwabara bobbed his head up and down and huddled closer to Yusuke. "You never know, he's always had that fetish for Kamiyama. They could be doing you-know-what right as we're speaking."

"Please refrain from suggesting such vulgarity," Hiei hissed, "even I don't want to think about that sort of thing." The places where teenaged boys minds went sometimes...the very thought made him want to gag. There wasn't enough soap in the human world to wash that mentally scarring image out of his mind.

Yusuke turned towards Kurama, who had been oddly silent. "What do you think? I know you're the type to want to think things through, but we might not have a lot of time on our hands..."

"I know," he sighed, his eyebrow slightly twitching as he tried to shrug off Yusuke and Kuwabara's lewd insinuations. He didn't like the thought of Kira being anywhere near that demonic bastard and the thought that he could be doing something, well, something_ like that _with her made his temper flare dangerously. He could feel his emotions boiling within him, but he remained calm on the surface.

"Kurama?" Yusuke arched an eyebrow as he waited for a response. "Look, if you don't give us a straight answer within the next ten seconds we're going in there. The toddler will probably throw a fit if he finds out we were just standing outside here twiddling our thumbs while Kokuei makes off with Kamiyama."

"All of this hassle for a stupid girl," Shirogane mumbled quietly as she rolled her eyes, "it's so not worth it."

Hiei clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. "For once, I agree with you."

* * *

"Kokuei-sama, we have some intruders."

The dark haired demon looked up at his subordinates. The girl was fast asleep in his arms, he picked her up carefully and walked towards his three cloaked associates, his lips quirked up in a sadistic sneer.

"You will take care of them, I presume."

They bowed their heads respectfully.

"Yes, Kokuei-sama," their voices echoed off of the walls in the dark room.

"Good, I don't want to be disturbed." His gaze traveled down to the sleeping form of the girl in his arms. "I want them dead, especially that fox. I want him to suffer the most."

* * *

"It's a bit dark in here, yeah?" Yusuke said dryly as he surveyed the dark room. Not that surveying helped much because he couldn't see a damned thing!

"Just like the last time we were here," Kuwabara remarked in agreement. "However, that time we were falling towards the ground screaming like little girls."

Yusuke cringed inwardly as he recalled the pain of the impact against the stone cold ground. It had taken a few weeks for those bruises to heal. "Don't remind me about that painful experience, will ya?"

"My bad," Kuwabara said half heartedly. "So, where are the lights in this place?" He pressed his hands against the cold wall and groped aimlessly in the darkness.

Kurama dug his hand into his pocket, unlike the others, he had actually thought this far ahead. He pulled out a few seeds and scattered them in the dark room after putting a little bit of his demonic energy into each one. As soon as the seeds clattered against the floor they took root and grew into small lamp-shaped plants that emitted a hazy yellow glow.

"Nice one, Kurama," Yusuke grinned and gave the fox a thumbs up.

"Don't get too happy just yet," Hiei said irritably, "the real trouble is about to start."

Kuwabara stomped over to the vertically challenged demon. "What do you mean?"

A sudden chill enveloped the room and everyone went silent.

Without warning, the room began to shake violently and a deep rumbling sound thundered in their ears. Chunks of stone fell from the ceiling that came hurdling towards the floor as debris from the walls were sent flying in various directions.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Yusuke yelled as he punched a large rock that had been flying towards him, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces.

"I'm not too sure," Kurama replied as he skillfully dodged the debris.

Suddenly, it was as if everything seemed to stop. The noise, the flying chunks of rock, everything was frozen.

It was then that Yusuke took the time to look around and realize that there was no longer any floor beneath their feet anymore. In fact, what appeared to be the ground was now probably several hundred feet under them.

"Uh, guys," he gulped nervously, "am I the only one who thinks this is really, really going to hurt?"

"Just make sure you land on your feet, it would be bad to get injured before the fight actually begins," Kurama instructed sternly.

And, of course, everything that is up must come down.

"GODAAAMMMIIITTTTTT!" Yusuke sat up and rubbed his tender rear end only to realize that he had fallen on top of Kuwabara whose face was burning red as he glared daggers at his friend.

"Get off, Urameshii! I don't want your ass in my face!"

"But you're such a comfy landing cushion, Kuwabara..." Yusuke mocked in a sarcastic tone.

Hiei studied his surroundings with his sharp and well-trained eyes, he had been lucky enough to shake off Shirogane before going through the portal so he was less miffed now and able to focus without that added distraction glued to his side. There were dead trees everywhere, they looked more like menacing skeletons rather than something that used to be organic matter years ago. He tilted his head upwards and frowned. The sky was empty, no stars or moon could be seen.

"What do you make of this Kurama?" he inquired, looking over his shoulder at the red head.

"I think this is where they want to fight us." His tone was cold, distant. He had enough of all these charades, when was Kokuei going to come out and confront him himself?

"Ding, ding, ding! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!" A loud, crass male voice came from behind them. "Tell the lucky guys what they've won, Atsureki."

The two demons and two teenagers whirled instantly around at the sound of that voice to see three oddly familiar cloaked figures. Two of the figures had there arms folded across their chests while the one who had spoken was posing with one hand pumped high into the air and the other placed on his hip.

"Gladly," the female remarked icily as she sent Yusuke and Kuwabara rocketing backwards with a wave of her hand, "you've won a one way ticket to a world of pain."

**XXXXXX**

Yeah, this story's been on the back burner for a while...my apologies. Blah, I hate writing short chapters, but an update is an update, riiight? I will finish this eventually, though. And yeah, there's a fight coming up, or rather, there will be several going on at the same time. Yay, I haven't written fight scenes in ages! :D

Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who's stuck with this story for so long! You guys are awesome!

Rock on.


End file.
